In conventional parlance, vanity is the excessive belief in one's own abilities or attractiveness to others. Prior to the 14th century it did not have such narcissistic undertones, and merely meant futility. The related term vainglory is now often seen as an archaic synonym for vanity, but originally meant boasting in vain, i.e. unjustified boasting; although glory is now seen as having an exclusively positive meaning, the Latin term gloria (from which it derives) roughly means boasting, and was often used as a negative criticism.

In many religions vanity, in its modern sense, is considered a form of self-idolatry, in which one rejects God for the sake of one's own image, and thereby becomes divorced from the graces of God. The stories of Lucifer, Narcissus (who gave us the term narcissism) and others attend to a pernicious aspect of vanity. Philosophically speaking, vanity may refer to a broader sense of egoism and pride. Friedrich Nietzsche wrote that "vanity is the fear of appearing original: it is thus a lack of pride, but not necessarily a lack of originality." One of Mason Cooley's aphorisms is "Vanity well fed is benevolent. Vanity hungry is spiteful."

In Christian teachings vanity is considered an example of pride, one of the seven deadly sins. This list evolved from an earlier list of eight sins, which included vainglory as a sin independent of pride.

In Orthodox church, vanity is one of eight sinful and diabolical passions, the fight against which is a major task of every Orthodox Christian.

Quotes about vanity: excessive pride in or admiration of oneself, especially when concerned with how one is admirable by others.

Sourced

• 'Tis solitude should teach us how to die; It hath no flatterers; vanity can give No hollow aid; alone — man with his God must strive.
  • Lord Byron, Childe Harold's Pilgrimage, Canto IV (1818), Stanza 33

• Applause is the spur of noble minds, the end and aim of weak ones.
  • Charles Caleb Colton, Lacon, vol. I (1820), # 324

• Vanity plays lurid tricks with our memory.
  • Joseph Conrad, Lord Jim (1900), Ch. 41

• That was the source of my vanity and my cowardice: always I believed everyone was watching me.
  • Andre Dubus, "The Judge and Other Snakes", Broken Vessels (1991)

• Pride that dines on Vanity sups on Contempt.
  • Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard's Almanack, 1758 edition
• I scarce ever heard or saw the introductory words, "Without vanity I may say," &c., but some vain thing immediately followed. Most people dislike vanity in others, whatever share they have of it themselves; but I give it fair quarter wherever I meet with it, being persuaded that it is often productive of good to the possessor, and to others that are within his sphere of action; and therefore, in many cases, it would not be altogether absurd if a man were to thank God for his vanity among the other comforts of life.
  • Benjamin Franklin, Autobiography (1817)

From Wikiquote under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Sun Jul 18 08:10:40 2010