Fourth-century monk and ascetic Evagrius Ponticus defined eight "passions": gluttony, lust, avarice, depression, anger, acedia, vainglory and pride. In the late sixth century, Pope Gregory I tinkered with these, merged vainglory with pride and came up with the seven deadly sins.

The seriousness of a sin corresponded to the degree to which it offended against love. Pride was considered the worst because it caused a person to be arrogant enough to commit the others. In Peter Binsfeld's Classification of Demons (1589) pride is therefore associated not with lesser devils but with big-cheese demon Lucifer.

Bosch's representation of pride cum vanity (Lat. superbia) shows a demon therapist holding up a mirror to encourage a wimple wearer to explore her notions of self and self-esteem.