The Steps of Humility and Pride

Top Highlights

“All the virtues are interconnected; the truly humble man is also truthful and courageous.” (Page 2)

“We must look for truth in ourselves; in our neighbors; in itself. We look for truth in ourselves when we judge ourselves;⁵⁰ in our neighbors when we have sympathy for their sufferings;⁵¹ in itself when we contemplate it with a clean heart.” (Page 34)

“Bernard pauses to speak of the three fruits to be gained by mounting these steps of humility: humility itself, love and contemplation. These correspond to the three degrees of truth, or more accurately as Bernard notes, the three degrees of perception of truth; the truth in oneself, the truth in one’s neighbor and the Truth in itself.” (Pages 8–9)

“For what else is pride but, as a saint has defined it, the love of one’s own excellence.” (Page 42)

“If love can make you blind or too lenient in regard to the faults of a friend, what will your self-love do when you consider your own faults?” (Page 43)