Musar do Przysłów 1:7

In the first chapter we shall speak about the quality of pride. How good it is that it occurs at the very beginning of all the chapters because of the obligation of man to separate himself from it! For pride is the doorway to many evils and we have seen nothing as evil as arrogance in all of the qualities. Therefore, a man must be wise and lead pride along paths that are worthy, and thrust it away from the place where it is not proper for it to be.

And there is a sort of personal pride or pride in one's person that is good and necessary. Otherwise, a man might say, "Since arrogance is so evil a quality I shall separate myself from pride even more." And then he denies himself meat, drinks no wine, does not marry, does not live in a nice dwelling, does not put on a nice garment, but wears sackloth and coarse wool, and torn, soiled clothes, uses soiled and ugly dishes and utensils, does not wash his face, hands and feet until his appearance becomes more bedraggled than the appearance of other men and he does all this so as to remove himself from pride as far as is possible.

Solomon was the wisest and greatest of all men. He was king over earthly and celestial beings. After he had seen every sort of activity, tried all things and made known all sorts of wisdom, he concluded all of his words by saying, "The end of every matter is fear of the Lord." And thus he began, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge" (Prov. 1:7), and he ends, "A woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised" (Prov. 31:30).

Now how and what is the correction for the sickness of the soul? Let them go to the wise men who are the healers of souls and they will heal their illnesses with the traits that they will teach them until they will restore them to the good path. And concerning those people who know their evil traits but do not go to the wise men to heal them Solomon said: "The foolish despise wisdom and discipline" (Prov. 1:7).