De gradibus humilitatis et superbiae
The Bitter Sight of Self-Knowledge
Those whom Truth has made known to themselves are compelled to see their own wretchedness, mourn bitterly over it, and flee from justice to mercy.
Now we must return to our subject. Those whom Truth has already made known to themselves, and through this has made contemptible in their own eyes, must necessarily find bitter all the things they once loved — even themselves. Placing themselves before themselves, they force themselves to see what they are — or rather, what they would be ashamed to be seen as by themselves. And while they are displeased with what they are, and sigh for what they are not — which they deeply distrust their own ability to become — they mourn bitterly over themselves. The only consolation they find is this: as strict judges of themselves, hungering and thirsting with a love of truth for righteousness, they see that they are utterly unable to meet the standard, even to the point of self-contempt. For even if they were to do everything commanded them, they would call themselves useless servants. So they flee from justice to mercy.✦1
Mercy Sought and Extended to Others
Having fled to mercy through the Beatitude of the merciful, the humble learn to seek truth in others by attending to their needs and suffering alongside them.
But to obtain that mercy, they follow the counsel of Truth: 'Blessed are the merciful, for they themselves will obtain mercy.'✦2 And this is the second step of truth, by which they seek it out in those around them: while they look into the needs of others instead of their own, while from the very things they suffer they learn to suffer alongside those who suffer.34
Read the original Latin
Iam ad propositum redeundum est. Quos itaque Veritas sibi iam innotescere, ac per hoc vilescere fecit, necesse est, ut cuncta, quae amare solebant, et ipsi sibi amarescant. Statuentes nimirum se ante se, tales se videre cogunt, quales vel a se videri erubescunt. Dumque sibi displicet quod sunt, et ad id suspirant quod non sunt, quod utique per se fore diffidunt, vehementer sese lugentes, id solum consolationis inveniunt, ut severi iudices sui, qui scilicet amore veri esuriant et sitiant iustitiam, usque ad contemptum sui districtissimam de se ad id sufficere non posse conspiciunt, -cum enim fecerint omnia quae mandata fuerint sibi, servos se inutiles dicunt-, de iustitia ad misericordiam fugiunt. Ut autem illam consequantur, consilium Veritatis sequuntur: Beati misericordes, quoniam ipsi misericordiam consequentur.
Et hic est secundus gradus veritatis, quo eam in proximis inquirunt, dum de suis aliorum necessitates exquirunt, dum ex his quae patiuntur, patientibus compati sciunt.
Scripture echoes
Notes
- 1 ↩The parenthetical 'cum enim…dicunt' echoes Luke 17:10 ('When you have done all that is commanded you, say, We are useless servants'). The dash rendering preserves the Latin's parenthetical structure.
- 2 ↩Direct quotation of Matthew 5:7 (Beati misericordes, quoniam ipsi misericordiam consequentur). Status pending Moses resolution.
- 3 ↩quo rendered 'by which' (relative adverb of manner/purpose) rather than a simple 'in which' to capture the instrumental force of the Latin.
- 4 ↩proximis ('neighbors / those near') is substantivized; rendered 'those around them' to keep the sense of proximate community without narrowing to a single English equivalent.
De gradibus humilitatis et superbiae (On the Steps of Humility and Pride) companion
Humility is climbed one day at a time
Take the next step each morning with a free daily devotional in Chosen Portion.
Bernard frames humility as a ladder climbed by small repeated acts; Chosen Portion turns that into practice with one daily devotional step at a time.
- A daily 10-minute portion focused on one virtue at a time
- Re-take the 12-step self-check monthly and see real movement
- Historic texts like Bernard's, one readable portion per day