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Humility

Is the virtue of humility in your character?

The virtue of humility is best described as a correct assessment of oneself which can be true both for the good and for the bad aspects of your character.

When it comes to virtue education, humility is a foundational virtue, for it puts us in a place of growth concerning all the other virtues. Unless we are humble, in fact, we never see our faults and will not be motivated to work on our character. The proud person will never learn; hence humility must be cultivated at the outset. But humility is also crucial after we become virtuous. For, as Cassian has reminded us, pride is the vice that most easily ensnares those who make progress

Humility can take many forms. It can be the Socratic admission of ignorance which is the starting point of all learning. It can be the recognition of right authority as the basis for civility. It can be the respect of our traditions as we embrace our identities. It can be the attribution of credit and rights to those around us in a spirit of altruism. Appropriate humility is meant to restrain your arrogance, doubt your efforts, curtail your infinite appetites and make you small in order to enlarge your world.  Unexpectedly perhaps, humility and modesty are also the source of self-confidence and pugnacious living.

Does this describe you? If so, well done, you are a humble person.

The opposing vices

Humility allows you to walk in full disclosure of your faults but it also empowers you to wear your abilities and achievements in a spirit of modesty. Humility thus avoids both the excessive vices of shyness and false modesty and the deficiency vices of pride and shamelessness.

Do any of these describe you?  If they do, and if your score in the Virtue Test was low in this virtue, then you may want to choose to work on the virtue of humility in your character.


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