'The malice of the demon of pride takes two forms.
Either he persuades the monk to ascribe his achievements to himself and
not to God, the Giver of all goodness and helper in every achievement;
or, if this fails, he suggests that he should belittle those of his
brethren who are as yet less perfect than himself. Influenced in this
way, he does not realize that the demon is persuading him to deny God's
help. For if he belittles his brethren for their lack of achievement, he
clearly infers that he has achieved something through his own powers.
But this is impossible, since, as our Lord has said, "Without Me you can
do nothing" (John 15:5). For even when impelled towards what is good,
our weakness cannot bring anything to fruition without the Giver of all
goodness.'
