A “source” is that from which anything else comes.  The source of a river is the little spring on the Mountainside where the river first begins.  This little stream runs down the mountain, and as it goes along gathers strength and size from other little streams running into it.  It cuts its way through the meadows, and marks the course and is the beginning of a great river, sweeping all things before it and carrying them off to the ocean.  Now, if someone in the beginning had stopped up the little spring on the mountain—­the first source of the river—­there would have been no river in that particular place.  It is just the same with sin.  There is one sin that is the source, and as it goes along like the stream it gathers strength; other sins follow it and are united with it.  Again:  each of these “capital sins,” as they are called, is like a leader or a captain in an army, with so many others under him and following him.  Now, if you take away the head, the other members of the body will perish; so if you destroy the capital sin, the other sins that follow it will disappear also.  Very few persons have all the capital sins:  some are guilty of one of them, some of two, some of three, but few if any are guilty of them all.  The one we are guilty of, and which is the cause of all our other sins, is called our predominant sin or our ruling passion.  We should try to find it out, and labor to overcome it.

Every one of these capital sins has a great many other sins following it.

“Pride” is an inordinate self-esteem.  Pride comes under the First Commandment; because by thinking too much of ourselves we neglect God, and give to ourselves the honor due to Him.  Of what have we to be proud?  Of our personal appearance?  Disease may efface in one night every trace of beauty.  Of our clothing?  It is not ours; we have not produced it; most of it is taken from the lower animals—­wool from the sheep, leather from the ox, feathers from the bird, etc.  Are we proud of our wealth, money or property?  These may be stolen or destroyed by fire.  The learned may become insane, and so we have nothing to be proud of but our good works.  All that we have is from God, and we can have it only as long as He wishes.  We had nothing coming into the world, and we leave it with nothing but the shroud in which we are buried; and even this does not go with the soul, but remains with the body to rot in the earth.  Soon after death our bodies become so offensive that even our dearest friends hasten to place them under ground, where they become the food of worms, a mass of corruption loathsome to sight and smell.  Why, then, should we be so proud of this body, and commit so much sin for it, pamper it with every delicacy, only to be the food of worms?  This does not mean, however, that we are not to keep our bodies clean, and take good care of them.  We are bound to do so, and could not neglect it without committing sin.  The one thing to be avoided is taking too much care of them, and neglecting our soul and God on their account.  The followers of pride are:  conceit, hypocrisy, foolish display in dress or conduct, harshness to others, waste of time on ourselves, etc.