The University of Oxford hosts a sermon every year in St Mary’s Church on the Sin of Pride. Part of the joke, in my day, was that they used to invite dons to preach who were not noted for their humility. The best I heard was given by John Sparrow, then Warden of All Souls. He made what I think was a useful distinction: vanity is a foible, and pride is a sin.
Sir Walter Elliot in Persuasion is vain. Sir Leicester Dedlock in Bleak House is proud. The vanity of Sir Walter makes us laugh. The pride of Sir Leicester leads ultimately to the ruin of his wife’s life.
