I know your^[1] humility. I know that you can say with sincerity, Lord, my heart is not haughty or my eyes lofty; I know that in your heart as in that of your mother the pride through which the devil fell has no place. It would be time wasted to write to you about it; for there is no greater folly than to teach a pupil what he knows already. But now that you have despised the boastfulness of the world, do not let the fact inspire you with new boastfulness. Harbor not the secret thought that having ceased to court attention in garments of gold you may begin to do so in mean attire. And when you come into a room full of brothers and sisters, do not sit in too low a place or plead that you are unworthy of a footstool. Do not deliberately lower your voice as though worn out with fasting; or, leaning on the shoulder of another, mimic the tottering gait of one who is faint. Some women, it is true, disfigure their faces so that they may appear to other people to fast.^[2] As soon as they catch sight of any one, they groan, they look down; they cover up their faces, except for one eye, which they keep free to see with. Their dress is somber, their girdles are of sackcloth, their hands and feet are dirty; only their stomachs—which cannot be seen—are hot with food. Of these the psalm is sung daily: The Lord will scatter the bones of them that please themselves.^[3] Others change their garb and assume the appearance of men, being ashamed of being what they were born to be—women. They cut off their hair and are not ashamed to look like eunuchs. Some clothe themselves in goat’s hair, and, putting on hoods, pretending to become children again by making themselves look like so many owls.^[4]

Now your goodness must listen briefly while I explain how this virtue may be obtained. First of all, if you intend to start a good work, you will begin it not with the intention of acquiring praise but for the love and desire of doing good. Then, when this good task, whatever it is, has been completed, you will guard your heart most cautiously, lest you fall under the influence of human favors and overestimate yourself, thus trying to please yourself or to look for some renown from any deed. For glory is like the human shadow: if you follow it, it runs away; if you run away, it follows. Always value yourself least of all and remember, whenever any good befalls you throughout your life, ascribe it all to God who gave it, not to yourself who received it, convincing yourself with these words of the apostle Paul: What have you that you have not received? And if you have received it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?^[1] And also reflecting on these words of the apostle: Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights.^[2] And when you have built in your heart a temple to the Holy Spirit, using these most precious stones of holy humility, then pray in it, using the song of the prophet David. Not in words only but in deeds shall you sing: O Lord, my heart is not proud, nor are my eyes haughty; I busy not myself with great things or with things too sublime for me. This song you will truly be able to offer to God when you humiliate yourself and praise him alone, to whom truly with all the faithful you may every day say, To you we owe a hymn of praise,^[3] glorifying him alone.

Celsus,^[1] . . . as one who has heard the subject of humility greatly talked about but who has not been at pains to understand it, would wish to speak evil of that humility that is practiced among us, and imagines that it is borrowed from some words of Plato imperfectly understood, where he expresses himself in the Laws as follows: Now God, according to the ancient account, having in himself both the beginning and end and middle of all existing things, proceeds according to nature and marches straight on. He is constantly followed by justice, which is the avenger of all breaches of the divine law: he who is about to become happy follows [justice] closely in humility, and becomingly adorned.^[2] He did not observe, however, that in writers much older than Plato the following words occur in a prayer: Lord, my heart is not haughty or my eyes lofty, neither do I walk in great matters, nor in things too wonderful for me; if I had not been humble, etc. Now these words show that one who is of humble mind does not by any means humble himself in an unseemly or inauspicious manner, falling down on his knees or casting himself headlong on the ground, putting on the dress of the miserable or sprinkling himself with dust. But he who is of humble mind in the sense of the prophet, while walking in great and wonderful things, which are above his capacity—namely, those doctrines that are truly great and those thoughts that are wonderful—humbles himself under the mighty hand of God.^[3] If there are some, however, who through their stupidity have not clearly understood the doctrine of humiliation and act as they do, it is not our doctrine that is to be blamed; but we must extend our forgiveness to the stupidity of those who aim at higher things and owing to their foolishness of mind fail to attain them. He who is humble and becomingly adorned, is so in greater degree than Plato’s humble and becomingly adorned individual: for he is humble and becomingly adorned on the one hand, because he walks in things great and wonderful, which are beyond his capacity; and humble, on the other hand, because, while being in the midst of such, he yet voluntarily humbles himself, not under anyone at random but under the mighty hand of God, through Jesus Christ, the teacher of such instruction, who did not deem equality with God a thing to be eagerly clung to, but made himself of no reputation and took on him the form of a servant, and being found in fashion as a man, humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.^[4] And so great is this doctrine of humiliation that it has no ordinary individual as its teacher; but our great Savior says, Learn of me, for I am meek and lowly of heart, and you shall find rest for your souls.^[5]

And so it is most clearly established by examples and testimonies from Scripture that the mischief of pride, although it comes later in the order of the combat, is yet earlier in origin and is the beginning of all sins and faults. Neither is it (like the other vices) simply fatal to its opposite virtue—that is, humility—but it is also at the same time destructive of all virtues. Nor does it only tempt ordinary folk and small people, but chiefly those who already stand on the heights of valor. For thus the prophet speaks of this spirit, His food is choice.^[1] And so the blessed David, although he guarded the recesses of his heart with the utmost care, so that he dared to say to him from whom the secrets of his conscience were not hid, Lord, my heart is not exalted, nor are my eyes lifted up; neither have I walked in great matters, nor in wonderful things above me. If I was not humble and again, He that is proud shall not dwell in the midst of my house.^[2] Still, because he knew how hard that watchfulness is even for those that are perfect, he did not so presume on his own efforts, but prayed to God and implored his help, that he might escape unwounded by the darts of this foe, saying, Let not the foot of pride come to me.^[3] For he feared and dreaded falling into that which is said of the proud, namely, God resists the proud^[4] and Every one that exalts his heart is unclean before the Lord.^[5]

Nor can I think otherwise against the authority of so great a man,^[1] but I can only follow his steps and, in Christian humility, not deviate from the paths of our ancestors; as David says, Neither have I walked with great things or with things too sublime for me. He is raised up above himself who departs from the traces of his elders and tries to have vision in things that are beyond his powers. Hence, it follows, If I was not humbly minded, but exalted my soul: as a child that is weaned is towards his mother, so will you reward my soul. And so it is useful for us to think humble thoughts, in the words of the apostle: Not setting your mind on high things but condescending to the lowly;^[2] and to receive weaning with Isaac, that we may share stronger food rather than with Ishmael, son of the slave girl, to carry a bottle with water instead of wine^[3] and to be driven from the eternal inheritance.