Pride vs Humility

*PRIDE
there often comes to beginners a kind of secret pride when they are somewhat satisfied with themselves and their work. It comes as beginners think of themselves as rich because of their ardour & hard work in spiritual things & godly exercises.But because beginners are imperfect they need to speak of spiritual things in front of others, and even to teach rather than to learn, because they are conceited. In their heart they condemn those who do not have the devotion they themselves want.
They want & seek out someone else who suits their taste, because usually they want to talk of spiritual things with those who will praise them. They flee, as it from death, from those who point out their errors to them in order to lead them on to a safe path - at times they even harbour resentment against them. Thus, assuming too much for themselves, they are bound to expect too much and achieve very little. At times they are concerned to let others know their great spirituality & godliness and so they have to give audible & visible evidence of this by their movements, sights and so on, At other times they have ecstasies in public rather than in private. The devil lends his help at such times: they are so pleased to be noticed and long to be noticed even more.

*humility
those who proceed to perfection at this time do so in a very different frame of mind. Because of their humility they make progress and are built up in their spiritual lives. They think nothing of their own deeds, and show no sign of self-satisfaction. They rate everybody else as better than themselves, and they usually have a godly respect for them, as they seek to serve God in all they do. Their longing for God increases and they do more good deeds, taking real delight in doing them, and so they make great strides and become more humble. It is as they do this that they also realise that God deserves their all, and they realise how little they do for him. In this way they become less and less self-satisfied. it is out of a sense of love for God that they do everything, so it appears to them that they are doing nothing. Because they are so pre-occupied with their love for God, they have no time to notice what others are, or are not doing. And even if they did, they would rate them as being better than themselves. They have a very low self estimation of themselves, and are keen that others should view them like this. If anybody should give them praise they do not believe what they say, and it even seems strange to them that anybody should say anything good about them.

(The Dark Night of The Soul, St John of the Cross)