"Very often demons manage to persuade us either to omit confession, or else to confess as though the sins were committed by someone else or else to blame others as responsible for our own sins." Source: St. John Climacus, The Ladder of Divine Ascent
"Pride makes us forget our sins, for the remembrance of them leads to humility." Source: St. John Climacus, The Ladder of Divine Ascent
"To reject criticism is to show pride, while to accept it is to show oneself free of this fetter." Source: St. John Climacus, The Ladder of Divine Ascent
"A help to the proud is submissiveness, a tougher and humbler mode of life, and the reading of the supernatural feats of the Fathers." Source: St. John Climacus, The Ladder of Divine Ascent
"The Lord often humbles the vainglorious by causing some dishonor to befall them. And indeed the first step in overcoming vainglory is to remain silent and to accept dishonor gladly. The middle stage is to check every act of vainglory while it is still in thought. The end – insofar as one may talk of [...]
"If we really long for heavenly things, we will surely taste the glory above. And whoever has tasted that will think nothing of earthly glory." Source: St. John Climacus, The Ladder of Divine Ascent
"The flatterer is a servant of the devils, a teacher of pride, the destroyer of contrition, a vandal of excellence, a perverse guide. The prophet says this: 'Those who honor you deceive you' (Isa. 3:12)." Source: St. John Climacus, The Ladder of Divine Ascent
"Like the sun which shines on all alike, vainglory beams on every occupation. What I mean is this. I fast, and turn vainglorious. I stop fasting so that I will draw no attention to myself, and I become vainglorious over my prudence. I dress well or badly, and am vainglorious in either case. I talk [...]
"A proud soul is the slave of cowardice. Trusting only itself, it is frightened by a sound or a shadow." Source: St. John Climacus, The Ladder of Divine Ascent
"Insensitivity is deadened feeling in body and spirit, and comes from long sickness and carelessness. Lack of awareness is negligence that has become habit. It is thought gone numb, an offspring of predisposition, a trap for zeal, a noose for courage, an ignorance of compunction, the gateway to despair, the mother of forgetfulness giving birth [...]