HUMILITY:
See also: Pride
I am meek and lowly in heart.
The Bible, Matthew 11:29 kjv
For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
The Bible, Matthew 23:12
He humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
The Bible, Philippians 2:8 kjv
Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.
The Bible, James 4:10
… clothe yourselves with humility …
The Bible, 1 Peter 5:5
Only a fool knows everything. A wise man knows how little he knows.
Author unknown
Many would be scantily clad if clothed in their humility.
Author unknown
It is the laden bough that hangs low, and the most fruitful Christian who is the most humble.
Author unknown
I would rather have a defeat with humility than a victory with pride.
Author unknown, an anonymous Desert Father
Some never get started on their destiny because they cannot humble themselves to learn, grow, and change.
Author unknown
Humility is that holy place in which God bids us make the sacrifice of ourselves.
Author unknown, a Desert Father
The knowledge is truth and only found at the peak of humility, which is our food by which we grow in love to the truth.
Author unknown
Humility is like your underwear; it shouldn’t show.
Author unknown
Humility is the only certain defense against humiliation.
Author unknown
A little humility is good for us all.
Author unknown
Man knows mighty little, and may some day learn enough of his own ignorance to fall down and pray.
Henry Adams
Humility exists only in those who are poor enough to see that they possess nothing of their own.
Angela of Foligno
Without humility of heart all the other virtues by which one runs toward God seem – and are – absolutely worthless.
Angela of Foligno
Abba Anthony said, “I saw the snares that the enemy spreads out over the world and I said groaning, “What can get through from such snares?” Then I heard a voice saying to me, “Humility.”
Abba Anthony the Great
By the lowliness and humility of our Lord Jesus Christ, we climb up as on a true ladder to heaven into the heart of God, our dear Father, and we rest in his love.
Johann Arndt
If you plan to build a tall house of virtues, you must first lay deep foundations of humility.
Augustine of Hippo
When a certain rhetorician was asked what was the chief rule of eloquence he replied, “Delivery.” What was the second rule? “Delivery.” What was the third rule? “Delivery.” So if you ask me about the precepts of the Christian religion, first, second, third and always I would answer, “Humility.”
Augustine of Hippo
Unless humility precede, accompany, and follow up all the good we accomplish, unless we keep our eyes fixed on it, pride will snatch everything right out of our hands.
Augustine of Hippo
What makes humility so desirable is the marvelous thing it does to us; it creates in us a capacity for the closest possible intimacy with God.
Monica Baldwin
Christian humility is based on the sight of self, the vision of Christ, and the realization of God.
William Barclay
Life is a long lesson in humility.
James M. Barrie
It is a contradiction to be a true Christian and not humble.
Richard Baxter
Humility is the virtue by which a man recognizes his own unworthiness because he really knows himself.
Bernard of Clairvaux
It is no great thing to be humble when you are brought low; but to be humble when you are praised is a great and rare attainment.
Bernard of Clairvaux
God’s substance is humility. He who came to rescue us from the evil power, described himself as “meek and lowly”.
Jacob Boehme
The true way to be humble is not to stoop until you are smaller than yourself, but to stand at your real height against some higher nature that will show you what the real smallness of your greatness is.
Phillips Brooks
Without humility there can be no humanity.
John Buchan
He that is down need fear no fall,
He that is low no pride.
John Bunyan
It is never said of those who are entangled in other sins that they have God resisting them, but only “God resisteth the proud.”
Cassian
[The humble soul] knows that all that she is and every gift she has is from me, not from herself, and to me she attributes all.
Catherine of Siena, God speaking in a vision
The foundation of our philosophy is humility.
John Chrysostom
The higher we are placed, the more humbly we should walk.
Cicero
Christ is with the humble, not with those who set themselves up over his flock.
Clement of Rome
The signs of humility are poverty, withdrawal from the world, the concealment of one’s wisdom, simplicity of speech, the seeking of alms, the disguising of one’s nobility, the exclusion of free and easy relationships, and no idle talk.
John Climacus
Holy humility said: “The one who loves me will not condemn someone, or pass judgment on anyone, or lord it over someone else, or show off his wisdom until he has been united with me.”
John Climacus
Humility is a grace in the soul. It is indescribable wealth, a name and a gift from God.
John Climacus
If pride turned some of the angels into demons, then humility can doubtless make angels out of demons.
John Climacus
The Lord often humbles the vainglorious by causing some dishonor to befall them. And indeed the first step in overcoming vainglory is to remain silent and to accept dishonor gladly. The middle stage is to check every act of vainglory while it is still in thought. The end – insofar as one may talk of an end to an abyss – is to be able to accept humiliation before others without actually feeling it.
John Climacus
Just as darkness retreats before light, so all anger and bitterness disappear before the fragrance of humility.
John Climacus
There are men who wear out their bodies to no purpose in the pursuit of total dispassion, heavenly treasures, miracle working, and prophetic ability, and the poor fools do not realize that humility, not hard work, is the mother of such things.
John Climacus
Humility is nothing more than an accurate self-assessment, an awareness of oneself as one really is. And surely, anyone seeing himself for what he really is, must be truly humble.
The Cloud of Unknowing
What you lack and not what you have is the quickest path to humility.
The Cloud of Unknowing
Mr Lely, I desire you would use all your skill to paint my picture freely like me, and not flatter me at all; but remark all these roughnesses, pimples, warts and everything as you see me, otherwise I will never pay a farthing for it.
Oliver Cromwell
It is better for a man to be conquered by others on account of his humility, than to be victorious over them by means of pride.
A Desert Father
Humility is hard to acquire, and the deeper it is, the greater the struggle needed to gain it.
Diadochos of Photiki
Humiliation is the beginning of sanctification; and as without this, without holiness, no man shall see God, though he pore whole nights upon his Bible; so without that, without humility, no man shall hear God speak to his soul, though he hear three two-hour sermons every day.
John Donne
We must view humility as one of the most essential things that characterizes true Christianity.
Jonathan Edwards
Nothing sets a person so much out of the devil’s reach as humility.
Jonathan Edwards
Pure Christian humility disposes a person to take notice of every thing that is good in others, and to make the best of it, and to diminish their failings.
Jonathan Edwards
True humility is not an abject, groveling, self-despising spirit; it is but a right estimate of ourselves as God sees us.
Tryon Edwards
The only wisdom we can hope to acquire is the wisdom of humility.
T.S. Eliot
“My children,” my grandfather said, “you will never see anything worse than yourselves.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson
The beginning of salvation is to despise yourself.
Evagrius
Humility is not a grace that can be acquired in a few months: it is the work of a lifetime.
F. Fénelon
There is no true and constant gentleness without humility. While we are so fond of ourselves, we are easily offended with others. Let us be persuaded that nothing is due to us, and then nothing will disturb us. Let us often think of our own infirmities, and we will become indulgent towards those of others.
F. Fénelon
When the corn is nearly ripe it bows the head and stoops lower than when it was green. When the people of God are near ripe for heaven, they grow more humble and self-denying.
John Flavel
They that know God will be humble; they that know themselves cannot be proud.
John Flavel
To do the wondrous work God had mind to do, he chose me. For God has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; the mean, contemptible, feeble things of the world to confound the noble and great; so that the grandeur of goodness should proceed from God, and not from his creature; so that no flesh should boast, but that God alone should be honored.
Francis of Assisi
In reply to Brother Masseo who had asked him: “Why you? The whole world goes after you. But you are not a handsome man, you have no great knowledge or wisdom, you are not noble. Why you?”
The devil sees nothing more abominable than a truly humble Christian, for that Christian is just the opposite of the devil’s own image.
Hans Nielsen Hauge
A servant with this cause
Makes drudgery divine;
Who sweeps a room as for Thy laws
Makes that and th’ action fine.
George Herbert
Let us learn humility from Christ, humiliation from David, and from Peter to cry over what has happened; but let us also learn to avoid the despair of Samson, Judas, and the wisest of men, Solomon.
Hesychois of Sinai
Humility says, “I am nothing, I have nothing.”
Walter Hilton
Humility is to be exercised not so much in considering your own vileness and sinfulness, though in the beginning this consideration is good and beneficial, but rather in a quiet consideration of the infinite being and goodness of Jesus.
Walter Hilton
There was one who thought himself above me, and he was above me until he had that thought.
Elbert Hubbard
The tree of life is on high. Man climbs to it by the ladder of humility.
Hyperichius
No man has understanding if he is not humble, and whoever lacks humility is devoid of understanding. No man is humble if he is not peaceful, and he who is not peaceful is not humble. And no man is peaceful without rejoicing.
Isaac from Syria
Faithful service in a lowly place is true spiritual greatness.
D. Jackman
Humility and the fear of God are pre-eminent over all virtues.
John the Short
The door of God is humility. Our fathers, through the many insults which they suffered, entered the city of God.
John the Short
We may as well try to see without eyes, or live without breath, as to live in the spirit of religion without humility.
William Law
Woe be to them who disdain to humble themselves as little children, for the low gate of heaven will not permit them to enter through it.
Brother Lawrence
God said: The higher they are in heaven, the more humble they are in themselves, and the closer to Me and the more in love with Me.
Brother Lawrence
… the delight of being lowly; of saying of myself, “I am what I am, nothing more.”
George Macdonald
I have seen unlearned men who were truly humble, and they became wiser than the wise. Another unlearned man, upon hearing them praised, instead of imitating their humility, prided himself on being unlearned and so fell into arrogance.
Mark the Ascetic
Don’t be so humble – you are not that great.
Golda Meir, to a visiting diplomat
No man will learn anything at all, unless he first will learn humility.
Owen Meredith
Pride makes us artificial and humility makes us real.
Thomas Merton
I have had more trouble with myself than with any other man I ever met.
Dwight L. Moody
We can never have more of true faith than we have of true humility.
Andrew Murray
Christ is the humility of God embodied in human nature; the Eternal Love humbling itself, clothing itself in the garb of meekness and gentleness, to win and serve and save us.
Andrew Murray
I am persuaded that love and humility are the highest attainments in the school of Christ and the brightest evidences that he is indeed our Master.
John Newton
A man ought to breathe humility as his nostrils breathe the air.
Pastor, a Desert Father
An able yet humble man is a jewel worth a kingdom.
William Penn
Jesus’ life began in a borrowed stable and ended in a borrowed tomb.
Alfred Plummer
He who asks is a fool for five minutes, but he who does not ask remains a fool forever.
Chinese proverb
If thou desire the love of God and man, be humble, for the proud heart, as it loves none but itself, is beloved of none but itself.
Francis Quarles
The first test of a really great man is his humility.
John Ruskin
Humility is a strange flower; it grows best in winter weather, and under storms of affliction.
Samuel Rutherford
Humility is a virtue all men preach, none practice, and yet everybody is content to hear. The master thinks it good doctrine for his servants, the laity for the clergy, and the clergy for the laity.
John Seldon
In peace there’s nothing so becomes a man
As modest stillness and humility.
William Shakespeare, King Henry V
The Churches must learn humility as well as teach it.
George Bernard Shaw, St. Joan
The proud man counts his newspaper clippings – the humble man his blessings.
Fulton J. Sheen
We cannot have one spark of real humility till we are abased before God, as guilty, helpless, and undone creatures, who have no hope but in the tender mercy of God in Christ Jesus.
Charles Simeon
Humility is not a mere insulated grace, if I may so speak, like patience, or meekness, or any other virtue, but a feeling which pervades the whole man, and is called forth into exercise with every grace.
Charles Simeon
Humility is strong, not bold; quiet, not speechless; sure, not arrogant.
Estelle Smith
You cannot expect anything from God unless you put yourself in the right place, that is, as a beggar at his footstool. Then will he hear you, and not until then.
C.H. Spurgeon
Humility is to make a right estimate of one’s self; it is no humility for a man to think less of himself than he ought.
C.H. Spurgeon
Let us pray much for humility and especially for humility in our days of peace and success.
C.H. Spurgeon
As no ships can be built without nails, so no man can be saved without humility.
Amma Syncletica
The source of humility is the habit of realizing the presence of God.
William Temple
True humility,
The highest virtue, mother of them all.
Tennyson
For the foundation of this whole edifice is humility. Therefore, sisters, if you wish to lay good foundations, each of you must try to be the least of all, and the slave of God, and must seek a way and means to please and serve all your companions. If you do that your foundation will be so firmly laid that your Castle will not fall.
Teresa of Avila
By meditating upon Christ’s humility, we shall see how far we are from being humble.
Teresa of Avila
Humility must always be doing its work like a bee making its honey in the hive: without humility all be lost.
Teresa of Avila
It is by humility that the Lord allows Himself to be conquered so that He will do all we ask of Him.
Teresa of Avila
Learn to humble yourself, you who are but earth and clay
Thomas à Kempis
Unto the humble He revealeth His secrets, and sweetly draweth nigh and inviteth him unto Himself.
Thomas à Kempis
If you would learn anything and know it profitably to the health of your soul, learn to be unknown and be glad to be considered despicable and as nothing.
Thomas à Kempis
Great peace is with the humble man, but in the heart of a proud man are always envy and anger.
Thomas à Kempis
Humility comes from the constant sense of our own creatureliness.
R.C. Trench
Truly, with Augustine, our prayer should ever be for humility and more humility.
Cornelius Van Til
Lord, help me to begin to begin.
George Whitefield, whose indefatigable preaching was the means of conversion of thousands in England and America
Talent is God-given; be humble.
John Wooden
There is no knowledge, no light, no wisdom that you are in possession of, but what you have received it from some source.
Brigham Young