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"In reality, there is, perhaps, no one of our natural passions so hard to subdue as pride. Disguise it, struggle with it, beat it down, stifle it, mortify it as

"In reality, there is, perhaps, no one of our natural passions so hard to subdue as pride. Disguise it, struggle with it, beat it down, stifle it, mortify it as much as one pleases, it is still alive, and will every now and then peep out and show itself; you will see it, perhaps, often in this history; for, even if I could conceive that I had completely overcome it, I should probably be proud of my humility." Benjamin Franklin (emphasis mine, and added only semi-seriously: how do I discuss the humility I take pride in?).

chernevik 14y ago
[From a senior devil, instructing a junior in the temptation of a human:] "Your patient has become humble; have you drawn his attention to the fact? All virtues are less formidable to us once the man is aware that he has them, but this is specially true of humility. Catch him at the moment when he is really poor in spirit and smuggle into his mind the gratifying reflection, 'By jove! I'm being humble', and almost immediately pride--pride at his own humility--will appear. If he awakes to the danger and tries to smother this new form of pride, make him proud of his attempt-- and so on, through as many stages as you please. But don't try this too long, for fear you awake his sense of humour and proportion in which case he will merely laugh at you and go to bed." "Screwtape Letters", C.S. Lewis
- SkyMarshal 14y ago
  Reminds me of the end of The Devil's Advocate, conveniently available on Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGXvj2BjZLA http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGXvj2BjZLA
sp332 14y ago
Humility isn't thinking poorly of yourself, humility is not thinking of yourself at all.
- chernevik 14y ago
  Yes. More from Mr. Lewis: ". . . . a man is not usually called upon to have an opinion of his own talents at all, since he can very well go on improving them to the best of his ability without deciding his own precise niche in the temple of Fame."
  - Angostura 14y ago
    Until or she has to write a C.V. It's the worst thing in the world. I hate it. "I achieved the following..." well yeah, but with quite a bit of help from the people around me.
- entropy_ 14y ago
  The exact quote from "Mere Christianity": "Do not imagine that if you meet a really humble man he will be what most people call “humble” nowadays: he will not be a sort of greasy, smarmy person, who is always telling you that, of course, he is nobody. Probably all you will think about him is that he seemed a cheerful, intelligent chap who took a real interest in what you said to him. If you do dislike him it will be because you feel a little envious of anyone who seems to enjoy life so easily. He will not be thinking about humility: he will not be thinking about himself at all." This particular quote of Lewis'(in face the entire chapter on Pride from this book) has always stuck with me. I am always amazed on how right Lewis can be on things regarding human nature. When I first read this passage I immediately realized that I had met such people. And I had liked them a lot and enjoyed their presence and conversation greatly. I never understood why I found spending time with them so uplifting until I read this, and then I got it.
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nosse 14y ago
Pride is not the opposite of humility, arrogance is. Otherwise they would not be calling it "gay pride". Pride is actually a good thing in many situations. It's good when father is proud of his children and almost always when someone has pride of someone else. It's good when employee takes pride in his/her work, as it's kind of proof of motivation. Could Olympic athlete enjoy victory fully without feeling little proud? I bet it's then mostly "I did it!" not "others suck!". I think there is a basic feeling that can surface as pride or arrogance. Pride is the positive side of this. Usually no feeling is bad, it's what you make of it that can be bad.
SatvikBeri 14y ago
...what's wrong with pride? In the context of this post, you could certainly be proud that you do whatever it takes to make your company successful.

chernevik 14y ago

[From a senior devil, instructing a junior in the temptation of a human:] "Your patient has become humble; have you drawn his attention to the fact? All virtues are less formidable to us once the man is aware that he has them, but this is specially true of humility. Catch him at the moment when he is really poor in spirit and smuggle into his mind the gratifying reflection, 'By jove! I'm being humble', and almost immediately pride--pride at his own humility--will appear. If he awakes to the danger and tries to smother this new form of pride, make him proud of his attempt-- and so on, through as many stages as you please. But don't try this too long, for fear you awake his sense of humour and proportion in which case he will merely laugh at you and go to bed." "Screwtape Letters", C.S. Lewis

SkyMarshal 14y ago
Reminds me of the end of The Devil's Advocate, conveniently available on Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGXvj2BjZLA http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGXvj2BjZLA

sp332 14y ago

Humility isn't thinking poorly of yourself, humility is not thinking of yourself at all.

chernevik 14y ago
Yes. More from Mr. Lewis: ". . . . a man is not usually called upon to have an opinion of his own talents at all, since he can very well go on improving them to the best of his ability without deciding his own precise niche in the temple of Fame."
- Angostura 14y ago
  Until or she has to write a C.V. It's the worst thing in the world. I hate it. "I achieved the following..." well yeah, but with quite a bit of help from the people around me.
entropy_ 14y ago
The exact quote from "Mere Christianity": "Do not imagine that if you meet a really humble man he will be what most people call “humble” nowadays: he will not be a sort of greasy, smarmy person, who is always telling you that, of course, he is nobody. Probably all you will think about him is that he seemed a cheerful, intelligent chap who took a real interest in what you said to him. If you do dislike him it will be because you feel a little envious of anyone who seems to enjoy life so easily. He will not be thinking about humility: he will not be thinking about himself at all." This particular quote of Lewis'(in face the entire chapter on Pride from this book) has always stuck with me. I am always amazed on how right Lewis can be on things regarding human nature. When I first read this passage I immediately realized that I had met such people. And I had liked them a lot and enjoyed their presence and conversation greatly. I never understood why I found spending time with them so uplifting until I read this, and then I got it.

deleted 14y ago

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nosse 14y ago

Pride is not the opposite of humility, arrogance is. Otherwise they would not be calling it "gay pride". Pride is actually a good thing in many situations. It's good when father is proud of his children and almost always when someone has pride of someone else. It's good when employee takes pride in his/her work, as it's kind of proof of motivation. Could Olympic athlete enjoy victory fully without feeling little proud? I bet it's then mostly "I did it!" not "others suck!". I think there is a basic feeling that can surface as pride or arrogance. Pride is the positive side of this. Usually no feeling is bad, it's what you make of it that can be bad.

SatvikBeri 14y ago

...what's wrong with pride? In the context of this post, you could certainly be proud that you do whatever it takes to make your company successful.