more quotes and passages on humility

The individual never asserts him or herself
more than when they forget themselves.

Andre Gide

I believe that the first test of a truly great person is one's humility. I do not mean by humility, doubt of one's own powers. But really great people have a curious feeling that the greatness is not in them but through them. And they see something divine in every other person. John Ruskin

Practice radical humility when it comes to your own accomplishments, and give credit everywhere except to your ego. W ayne Dyer Humbleness is always grace, always dignity. James Russell Lowell

Be humble and you will remain entire. Sages do not display themselves, therefore they shine. They do not approve themselves, therefore they are noted. They do not praise themselves, therefore they have merit. They do not glory in themselves, therefore they excel. Lao-tzu

One major difference between our people and those of the dominant society today is humility. Among our people, no matter how far or how high a person goes, they know they are small in the presence of God and the universe. Lincoln Tritt

Discount the one who immediately starts out to tell you
all about his or her accomplishments or achievements.
If they are good and lasting, others will tell you about them.
The big person does not have to brag.
The little person thinks he or she must.

Fred van Amburgh

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The casting down of our spirits in true humility is but like throwing a ball
to the ground, which makes it rebound the higher towards heaven.

John Mason

It is not a great thing to be humble when you are brought low;
but to be humble when you are praised is a great and rare attainment.

St. Bernard

Humility is the acceptance of the possibility that someone else can
teach you something else you do not know already, especially about
yourself. Conversely, pride and arrogance close the door to the mind.

Arthur Deikman

Only those who feel good about who they are can express humility.

Sanaya Roman

Humility is to make a right estimate of one's self.

Charles Spurgeon

If you are humble, nothing will touch you, neither praise nor
disgrace, because you know what you are.

Mother Teresa

Humility is to the virtues what the chain is to the rosary: remove the chain,
and all the beads escape; take away humility, and all the virtues disappear.

the Cure d'Ars

People often exult the defeat of another forgetting that, some other time,
their own defeat will be the cause of jubilation for others. So, humility
in all the conditions of life is the way to enjoy peace.

Papa Ramdas

Humility is the highest of all virtues. You can destroy your egotism
by developing this virtue alone. You can influence people.
You can become a magnet to attract the world.
It must be genuine. Feigned humility is hypocrisy.

Robert Collier

Humility is the world's antidote to self-righteousness. Self-righteousness is the
disease that assumes that if I say so, it must be so and if I want it, I ought to
have it. A lot of wars, domestic and otherwise, could be prevented
with the slightest touch of humility.

Joan Chittister
Seeing with Our Souls

Humility must always be doing its work like a bee
making its honey in the hive: without humility all will be lost.

Teresa of Avila

humility

Humility is the surest sign of strength.

Thomas Merton

Those who humble themselves shall be saved;
those who bend shall be made straight;
those who empty themselves shall be filled.

Lao-Tzu

Wear your learning like your watch, in a private pocket. Do not pull it
out merely to show that you have one. If asked what o'clock it is, tell it,
but do not proclaim it hourly and unasked, like the watchman.

Phillip D. Stanhope

True humility involves opposites. The truly humble work in silence. Because
they do not speak of their accomplishments, credit for them can never be taken away.

Lao-tzu

Articles and book excerpts on humility:

It's a Mistake! tom walsh

Never will I allow myself to become so important, so wise, so dignified,
that I forget how to laugh at myself and my world. In this matter I will
always remain as a child, for only as a child am I given the ability to look
up to others; and so long as I look up to another I will never grow too
long for my cot.

Og Mandino
The Greatest Salesman in the World

No need to discount yourself in order to achieve humility;
neither can you attain humility by overestimating what you are.
Humility is your correct weight; no more, no less.

Fred van Amburgh

We experience humility not because we have fought and lost but
because humility is the only lens through which great things can be
seen--and once we have seen them, humility
is the only posture possible.

Parker J. Palmer
The Courage to Teach

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Humility is vastly undervalued in our modern Western culture.
It is a prevalent belief that humility is fine for the pious or holy,
but in the "real" world it won't get you very far. Many people
consider pride and aggressiveness as virtues and humility as a
weakness. This may be because they don't understand the
meaning of humility. They may equate humility with self-
debasement and a sense of inferiority when, in fact, this is not
true humility. Actually, the opposite is true. Most really great
people are humble. Those among the most respected who have
ever lived acknowledge that their greatness came, not from their
personal self, but from a higher power working through them.

John Marks Templeton
Worldwide Laws of Life

The word humility comes from humus, the Latin word for "earth." A person
who is humble, in other words, knows the stuff--earth--of which they're
made: a talent here, a weakness there, a degree of complacency here, a
blunder there. Humble persons know what they are and what they aren't,
what they have and what they don't have, and they never confuse the two.

Joan Chittister
Seeing with Our Souls

Whereas arrogance is a sign of insecurity and lack of self-confidence,
modesty is the hallmark of a person with high levels of self-esteem.
When I respect myself, I am more likely to act with humbleness, for
I have no need to elevate myself in the eyes of others to “fix” my
wounded sense of self; when I esteem myself, I do not feel compelled
to flaunt my successes and put my trophies on display. Being humble
is not necessarily about hiding my skills and strengths. It is about being
attuned to the situation, sensitive to other people, and recognizing
my real abilities as well as my limitations.

Tal Ben-Shahar
Choose the Life You Want

True humility is intelligent self-respect which keeps us from
thinking too highly or too meanly of ourselves. It makes us mindful
of the nobility God meant us to have. Yet it makes us modest by
reminding us how far we have come short of what we can be.

Ralph W. Sockman

There is but one road to lead to God--humility; all other ways
would only lead astray, even were they fenced in with all virtues.

Nicholas Boileau

God can do great things through the person
who doesn't care who gets the credit.

Robert Schuller