Quotes About Humility

A man asked me to write to Rome on his behalf who, as most people thought, had met with misfortune; for having been before wealthy and distinguished, he had afterwards lost all and was living here. So I wrote about him in a humble style. He however on reading the letter returned it to me, with the words: I asked for your help, not for your pity. No evil has happened unto me.

A guide, on finding a man who has lost his way, brings him back to the right path - he does not mock and jeer at him and then take himself off. You also must show the unlearned man the truth, and you will see that he will follow. But so long as you do not show it to him, you should not mock, but rather feel your own incapacity.

It's a living soul I want one of you to show me, the soul of a person willing to work with, and never criticize, either God or a fellow human being. One who will never fail, or have experiences he does not want; who will never give in to anger, jealousy or the desire to dominate others.

I am richer than you, therefore my wealth is superior to yours'; and 'I am a better speaker, therefore my diction is better than yours.' But you are neither wealth nor diction.

If you hear that someone is speaking ill of you, instead of trying to defend yourself you should say: 'He obviously does not know me very well, since there are so many other faults he could have mentioned'.

If you are praised by others, be skeptical of yourself. For it is no easy feat to hold onto your inner harmony while collecting accolades.

Jos joku kertoo sinulle, että se ja se panettelee sinua, älä ryhdy puolustautumaan panetteluja vastaan, vaan sano: Hän ei nähtävästi tiennyt muita vikojani, sillä muutoin hän ei olisi tyytynyt mainitsemaan vain noita.

None of those who have been raised to a loftier height by riches and honours is really great.

The people before whom you bow and tremble – when I meet them, I treat them as if they were slaves.

Avoid talking often and excessively about your accomplishments and dangers, for however much you enjoy recounting your dangers, it's not so pleasant for others to hear about your affairs.

If a friend tells you that someone has criticized or insulted you, say, "They must not know about my other faults, or they would have pointed out those, too.

It is impossible to learn that which one thinks one already knows.

It is no light thing, said he, to endure poverty uncomplainingly; and a difficult thing to bear wealth without becoming arrogant.

A college friend once explained that the difference Neil Young and Crazy Horse and Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band was that the former made you feel as if they were really no better than you are, while the latter somehow convinces you that you can be as great as they are.

Jeff: I don't need a limousine to know who I am. At least I know I don't know.

Demersul suprem al ratiunii este sa afle ca exista o infinitate de lucruri care o depasesc. Si e o ratiune slaba daca nu ajunge pana acolo.

There is no doubt that in exchanging a self-centered for a selfless life we gain enormously in self-esteem. The vanity of the selfless, even those who practice utmost humility, is boundless.

The burning conviction that we have a holy duty toward others is often a way of attaching our drowning selves to a passing raft. What looks like giving a hand is often a holding on for dear life. Take away our holy duties and you leave our lives puny and meaningless. There is no doubt that in exchanging a self-centered for a selfless life we gain enormously in self-esteem. The vanity of the selfless, even those who practice utmost humility, is boundless.

The impression somehow prevails that the true believer, particularly the religious individual, is a humble person. The truth is the surrendering and humbling of the self breed pride and arrogance. The true believer is apt to see himself as one of the chosen, the salt of the earth, the light of the world, a prince disguised in meekness, who is destined to inherit the earth and the kingdom of heaven too. He who is not of his faith is evil; he who will not listen will perish.

There is no surer way of infecting ourselves with virulent hatred toward a person than by doing him a grave injustice. That others have a just grievance against us is a more potent reason for hating them than that we have a just grievance against them. We do not make people humble and meek when we show them their guilt and cause them to be ashamed of themselves. We are more likely to stir their arrogance and rouse in them a reckless aggressiveness.

Fame turns out to be a powerful instrument of grace because it humbles its chosen victims in a hurry. You sail into it, your canvas swelled with grandiosity, and when your fifteen minutes are over and you are becalmed, you realize that grandiosity cannot take you where you need to go. Only then do you learn to row like hell, asking God for the strength to stay afloat.

Glitch or not, we seem to need a power greater than ourselves. We seem to need enormous shadows of divinity stalking us. We know we are weak. Alcoholics are, above all, lonely, fearful pepole who make a fetish of loneliness, who think they--we--are too good to be part of the human race. And we have to be humbled to remember who we are--stumbling human beings, more ape than angel.

It was clear to me that thinking yourself superior was a sure sign of being inferior and that thinking yourself extraordinary was a sure sign of being ordinary.

Pray To ask that the laws of the universe be annulled in behalf of a single petitioner confessed unworthy.