Charles Spurgeon Commentary Luke 18:9

"And he spake also this parable unto certain who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and set all others at nought:" — Luke 18:9 (ASV)

And he spoke this parable to certain who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:

It seems as if these two things went together, and that, as our esteem of ourselves goes up, our esteem of others goes down; the scales seem to work that way.