Section — Prümmer, Manuale Theologiae Moralis
1. On Humility
712. Humility, insofar as it is a moral virtue, can be defined: the virtue which restrains the inordinate appetite for one's own excellence and inclines a man rightly to acknowledge his own mean condition on account of his subjection toward God; or more briefly: "the virtue by which someone, considering his own defect, holds himself among the lowliest according to his own mode."1398
Duties. Humility principally has two duties: 1. to repress the inordinate appetite for one's own excellence. It by no means prevents us from gladly acknowledging, notwithstanding humility, the goods, whether natural or supernatural, which God has bestowed upon us. Nor does humility prohibit every appetite for glory; whence the Blessed Virgin, who certainly was most humble, exclaimed: "For behold from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed, because he that is mighty hath done great things to me."1399 2. To subject oneself to God by acknowledging that all goods proceed from God. Whence St. Thomas teaches:1400 "Humility, according as it is a special virtue, principally regards the subjection of man to God, for whose sake he also subjects himself to others by humbling himself." Humility presupposes a vivid knowledge of one's own defects; and this knowledge is called by St. Bernard humility of cognition.1401 For man of himself is nothing and is laden with sins of every kind; but all goods whatsoever proceed from God. Therefore St. Paul says: "For if any man think himself to be something, whereas he is nothing, he deceiveth himself."1402 Essentially, however, humility consists in the appetite, which it moderates lest it be borne inordinately toward high things.
St. Thomas comprehends the whole doctrine concerning the essence of humility in the following few words: "Humility consists essentially in the appetite, insofar as someone restrains the impulse of his soul lest it tend inordinately toward great things; but it has its rule in cognition, namely, that someone not esteem himself to be above that which he is; and the principle and root of each is the reverence which someone has toward God."1403
Certain saints, from humility, thought themselves worse than all other men. But in order that this may be immune from falsity, two things must be considered in every man, namely, that which is God's and that which is man's. Whatever is defective and sinful is man's; but every perfection is God's. Therefore a man, comparing in himself those things which are his own with the goods which others have from God, ought to judge himself worse than they. Likewise he can and ought to think that another man would have cooperated better with the graces received than he himself has. Finally, he can suppose that in another man there are many unknown goods. On account of these considerations a man can subject himself inwardly to any other person; but outwardly prelates and persons constituted in dignity ought not to subject themselves to inferiors.1404
1398 S. theol. 2, 2, q. 161, a. 1, ad 1.
1399 Luke 1:48 ff.
1400 S. theol. 2, 2, q. 161, a. 1, ad 5.
1401 De adventu Domini, sermon 4, n. 4: "Humility is twofold: one of cognition, the other of affection" (Migne, Patr. lat. 183, 48).
1402 Gal. 6:3.
1403 S. theol., l.c., a. 6.
1404 Ibid., a. 3.
713. Necessity. Humility is a very necessary virtue; indeed, it is the foundation of the moral life, not indeed in the sense that it excels all the other virtues - for this is false, since the theological virtues are more excellent and more necessary - but insofar as it removes pestiferous pride, which impedes the efficacy of divine grace. Whence St. Augustine beautifully writes:1405 "Provide for thyself no other way for attaining and obtaining truth than that which was provided by him who, as God, saw the infirmity of our steps. That way is, first, humility; second, humility; third, humility; and as often as thou shouldst ask, I would say this, not because there are no other precepts which may be named, but because, unless humility precede, accompany, and follow all things whatsoever that we do well, and be set before us, that we may look upon it, and set beside us, that we may cleave to it, and set over us, that we may be restrained by it, pride, when we now rejoice over some good deed, wrests the whole from our hand. For the other vices are to be feared in sins, but pride is to be feared even in things rightly done, lest those things which were laudably done be lost through the desire of praise itself."
The Angelic Doctor clearly explains how humility and faith are the foundation of the spiritual life:1406 "The first [foundation] in the acquisition of virtues can be taken in two ways: in one way, by way of removing that which prohibits; and thus humility holds the first place, insofar, namely, as it expels pride, which God resists, and renders man subject and open to receiving the influx of divine grace. Whence it is said that 'God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble.'1407 And according to this humility is called the foundation of the spiritual edifice. In another way, something is first in the virtues directly, through which, namely, approach to God is now made. But the first approach to God is through faith, according to this: 'For he that cometh to God must believe.'1408 And according to this, faith is posited as the foundation in a nobler manner than humility."
1405 Epistle 118 (otherwise 56) to Dioscorus, n. 22 (Migne, Patr. lat. 33, 442).
1406 S. theol. 2, 2, q. 161, a. 5, ad 2.
1407 Jas. 4:6.
1408 Heb. 11:6.
714. Degrees. There are three degrees of humility, which St. Bernard elegantly expresses thus: "One humility is sufficient, another abundant, another superabundant. Sufficient: to be subject to a greater and not to prefer oneself to an equal. Abundant: to be subject to an equal and not to prefer oneself to a lesser. Superabundant: to be subject to a lesser."1409
The following acts of humility are enumerated: contempt of oneself; to account oneself unworthy of the gifts of God; not to desire to be esteemed great; to desire to be held as lowly; to subject oneself to God and to men on account of God; in external things and functions to embrace that which is more abject, unless the contrary is necessary.
1409 Sententiae S. Bernardi, n. 37 (Migne, Patr. lat. 183, 755).
715. Opposed vices. Opposed to humility by excess is inordinate self-abjection, which is the inordinate renunciation of one's own honor and reputation and is therefore done with neglect of one's duty;1410 but by defect, pride, which is the inordinate appetite for one's own excellence. Pride is called an appetite because, although it presupposes an act of the intellect, namely, an excessive estimation of one's own merits, nevertheless it formally consists in the appetite for one's own personal excellence. For pride seeks the exaltation of one's own person, and by this it is distinguished from ambition, presumption, and vainglory. For ambition concerns honors and dignities; presumption seeks excellence in works; and vainglory, finally, seeks excellence in reputation and external glory. St. Gregory1411 enumerates four species of pride, namely: 1. when someone thinks that he has goods from himself; 2. when someone thinks that he has goods indeed from God, but from his own merits; 3. when someone arrogates to himself goods which he does not possess; 4. when someone, despising others, wills to be preferred to them more than is fitting.
How pride manifests itself outwardly is beautifully explained by St. Thomas.1412 Just as the essence of humility consists in due subjection to God, so the essence of pride is situated in the refusal of that subjection. Hence also the malice of pride is manifest, which is the graver, the greater that rebellion against God is. From these things there also shines forth the gravity of the first sin of our first parents and of the devil. Pride, as just explained, is called by St. Thomas and St. Gregory the Great the queen of all vices, because it truly commands all the vices and can induce to all vices. Wherefore it is also easily understood that God must resist the proud and withdraw his grace from them.1413 We treated pride more broadly above in the tract on the capital vices, I, n. 409.
1410 Selbstwegwerfung [self-abjection].
1411 Moral. l. 23, c. 7.
1412 S. theol., l.c., q. 162, a. 4, ad 4.
1413 S. theol. 2, 2, q. 162, a. 6, ad 3.