Humility gives one joys that are inaccessible to those who are conceited and proud.
Peace among people is a necessary condition for a good life; the main obstacle to peace is our pride; only humility—a readiness to endure humiliation, to be slandered, to be misunderstood—only when a human being is ready for this can he bring peace into his relationship with other people and other people’s relationship among themselves.
Come to me, all you who labor and are heavily burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
— Matthew 11:28–30
When society condemns and slanders us, rather than getting angry we should examine whether or not their condemnations have any basis.
— Hume
If your self-love is pained at the memory of how in the past you neglected wisdom, how you did not lead the life of the sages and how you hardly deserve to be called a sage, then do not be troubled about this. If you will not be known as a sage, then all the better. Be satisfied to be able to begin living now, right now, according to the demands of your conscience.
— Marcus Aurelius
Humility is the first thing that a human being must learn before he can succeed on the path towards happiness. Haughtiness, imperiousness and vanity must give way to meekness and gentleness. Haughtiness cannot acquire anything because it assumes that it already has everything.
— From “The World’s Advance Thought”
Pride defends not just itself, but all other human sins; because it hates reproach and repels healing, it conceals and justifies sin. The consciousness of sin, which humbles a human being, is more useful than a good deed, which inflates his pride.
— Baxter
Be strict with yourself and lenient with others and you will have no enemies.
— Chinese wisdom
Do not fear humiliation if you can accept it with humility: it will be repaid many times over with the spiritual goods that are linked with it.
