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socially and ethically robust understanding of humility and one that belies the
Humean/Kantian charge that humility is strictly a “monkish kind of virtue.”
As previously mentioned, Bernard accepted the Augustinian notion that humility
is rooted in the knowledge of man’s fallen status and of his nothingness without God.
Likewise, Bernard echoed the widely shared idea that humility and pride are bound
together in an epic life and death conflict, the former leading one on an upward ascent to
truth, the latter toward personal destruction. Yet Bernard’s writings on humility also
reveal a religious thinker who is deeply concerned with practical questions pertaining to
the possible sources and motivations for humility. In this regard he begins by indicating
what one will gain through humility, given that it is a quality that is “bitter but
medicinal.” Bernard describes this process as three degrees in the perception of truth
that are only made possible through humility.
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The ultimate reward or final step of
humility is the truth in itself, revealed through the humble contemplation of God. But the
first step or degree of truth made possible by humility is truth in our selves, or self-
knowledge. The second truth, after knowledge of self (and sin), pertains to our
knowledge of others through neighborly love and charity. What is significant about this
is that Bernard sees humility as a quality whose cultivation and practice is essential for
relationships between people within the world, not one that pertains exclusively to what
is beyond and outside the world. Thus, Bernard treats humility as a precondition for
solidarity or fraternity with others, as well as an essential feature of a pious life. By first
seeking the truth about our selves, we are made ready for sympathetic and charitable
relations with others: “one cannot be merciful if he is not humble . . . Considering how
easily you are tempted and how prone to sin, you will become meek and ready to help
Convention