Philosophers somehow tend to be down on pride. They seldom count it a virtue and tend to look down on pride as an undesirable characteristic. Ordinary chappies like you and me find it difficult to see how one cannot be proud of one's own achievements, say, or some such. It does not help that, mostly, people seem to think that there is no difference between pride and arrogance. You can keep telling them that pride comes from seeing yourself as better compared to who you were yesterday, whereas arrogance comes from comparing yourself to other people and seeing them as inferior. But it does not help. If you mention 'pride' they will scrunch up their faces in disgust and turn away.
But, in this instance, Tiru is not talking of pride as being vile; he is talking of what causes a vile person to feel pride.
Agappatti aavaaraik kaanin avarin migappattuch chemmakkum keezh - Tirukkural
The vile feel pride when they see someone viler than themselves - Loose Translation
In this, Tiru talks primarily of character. Of people of vile character who compare themselves to those whose character is worse than themselves and, thus, feel pride in their own relative virtue. Which is, probably, the root of all whataboutery. You know, like, "So what if I have taken a bribe. You will allow all those chaps who take bribes in crores go scot-free and show all your efficiency on me." OR, "Yeah, big deal if I bought that land from my aunt at a throw-away price because she trusted me. There are people worse than me, who forcibly occupy and take over other people's plots." (Yeah, I know that nobody really vocalises that they 'took a bribe' or 'betrayed a trust' even in their minds. But the way they justify themselves IS somewhat like that AND the need to justify themselves arises from a sub-vocal acknowledgement that they are doing wrong.)
The point, though, is that you replace the 'vile' with 'failures' and the thing works very well with them as well. AND, when I say 'failures', I do not mean those who are trying but have not succeeded yet OR those who tried an failed. I call people failure only when they do not dare to try at all.
AND such failures also have this habit of feeling happy at others who have failed worse than them. The 'I am at least pulling this much salary; look at him' being more common. They also have a habit of exulting at the failures of those who are trying. The "You keep blaming me for not trying. So, that chap there who has been trying according to you. What had he achieved?" brigade.
AND, as you can see, ALL of this pride IS an outcome of trying to look down on others in one form or the other. AND thus, it is not merely the pride OF the vile; it IS vile pride!
