Sefer HaMiddot, Haughtiness/ספר המדות·גאוה

1Mashiach will come only when {all} haughtiness is eliminated from the world.

2Pride leads a person to homosexual desires and anger. There are times when a woman cannot become pregnant because she glamorizes herself and is haughty.

3Haughtiness brings hunger to the world.

4Pride leads a person to drunkenness, and vice versa.

5A person’s haughtiness causes him to be afraid.

6Giving charity is a segulah for eliminating pride.

7The Holy One incites enemies against a rabbi who haughtily rules over people against their will.

8When a person feels his heart is uplifted, he should know that this is an opportune time for him.

9One who saves the poor has the power to humble proud people by [merely] staring at them.

10A person who falls while walking in public clearly is haughty.

11A segulah for eliminating one’s pride is to empathize with the suffering of the Jewish people.

12You should know that when a wicked person persecutes a pauper, it is on account of the poor man’s pride.

13A person’s pride causes him to fall from his faith.

14Haughtiness prevents one’s heart and eyes from seeing God’s wonders and thus fearing Him.

15A person should not take pride in his intellectual achievements and good deeds, which all stem from the Tzaddik of the generation. He is to the Tzaddik like a pen in the hand of a scribe.

16Eating and drinking lead to haughtiness.

17Pride can be rectified through fasting.

18A segulah for eliminating pride is to gaze at the heavens.

19A person is sent confusing dreams in order to remove his deep seated haughtiness, which is hidden from him and of which he is unaware.

20When a person is haughty, his wisdom and foresight depart.

21Reason cannot tolerate the poor person who exhibits pride. He will one day regret his behavior and be ashamed of himself.

22A proud person is incapable of humbling his opinions. He will experience forgetfulness.

23A haughty person is flawed.

24There are certain circumstances in which one is permitted to behave in a manner that appears haughty.

25A person’s pride eventually leads him to immoral behavior with another man’s wife. When a person is haughty, it is as if he serves idolatry and denies God’s existence, and as if he engaged in sexual relations with all the women forbidden to him by the Torah. He is likened to one who builds an altar [for unlawful worship]. His importance diminishes and disappears entirely, and it would be right to cut him down like a tree used for idolatry. The Divine Presence laments over him and he will not rise from the dust [at the time of the Resurrection].

26Wearing the Tzaddik’s hat is a segulah for removing pride.

27Having faith will give you the strength to break your pride; you’ll have mastery over the trait of haughtiness.

28The plans of a proud person will prove unsuccessful.

29Should you sin unwittingly, you can be sure that you possess pride. This is to show that you are not yet righteous.

30When you experience some feelings of haughtiness, beware of trouble.

31A humble pauper, though he does not give charity, is better than a haughty rich man, even if he is generous.

32When beset by feelings of pride, picture the image of your father.

33Haughtiness is a portent for disaster, God forbid.

34Pride stems from a person’s not having rectified the sins of his youth.

35When one’s wine ferments, clearly it is because he is haughty.

37God says of a haughty person: “He and I cannot live together in the world.” Even a small wind causes him trouble. His prayers are not heard and he has no cure. He will be wanting in Torah and even his own wife will disgrace him.

38One who undeservingly wears the mantle of a Torah scholar is not allowed to enter into the sanctum of the Holy One.

39Haughtiness delays Mashiach and drives a person from the world.

40Reciting the verses, “Though his excellence rises to the heavens...” (Job 20:6), and “For riches are not forever...” (Proverbs 27:24), is a segulah for breaking one’s pride.