Vanity and pride are different things, though the words are often used synonymously. A person may be proud without being vain. Pride relates more to our opinion of ourselves, vanity to what we would have others think of us.

Summary

The quote highlights the distinction between vanity and pride, noting that they are not interchangeable despite their common usage as synonyms. It suggests that pride is about how we view ourselves, while vanity pertains to the desire for others to perceive us in a certain way. Essentially, a person can possess pride without being consumed by a need for external validation, illustrating that these two qualities stem from different aspects of self-perception and social recognition.

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