De gradibus humilitatis et superbiae
Two Kinds of Sight
Two blind men in the Gospels received sight: one who had lost it and one who had never had it.
In the Gospel, two blind men are also recorded as having received sight: one had lost it and the other had never had it — the one had been blinded, but the other was born blind.
Mercy Beyond Merit
The formerly blind man earned mercy through cries, while the man born blind received grace unprompted by any prayer.
But the one who had been blinded earned wonderful mercy through his pitiable and astonishing cries; the one who was born blind, however, experienced the favor of his Illuminator — all the more merciful and all the more wondrous because it was in no way forestalled by his own prayers.1
Faith and Its Absence
To the formerly blind man it was said, "Your faith has saved you," but not to the one born blind.
To the one who had been blinded it was finally said, "Your faith has saved you"; but not to the one who was born blind.✦2
Raised by Prayer, Raised by Compassion
Three dead persons were raised: one by a father's prayers, the other two by the sheer greatness of divine compassion.
I also read that two recently dead persons were raised, and a third who had already been dead four days; yet the one — the daughter still lying in the house — was raised by her father's prayers, while the other two were raised by the extraordinary greatness of divine compassion.3
Read the original Latin
Duo etiam in Evangelio caeci visum, alter accepisse, alter recepisse leguntur: alter quem amiserat, alter quem numquam habuerat; unus scilicet excaecatus, alter vero caecus natus. Sed quo excaecatus, miserabilibus mirisque clamoribus miram misericordiam meruit; qui vero caecus natus, tanto misericordius quanto mirabilius nullis suis precibus praeventum, sui illuminatoris beneficium nihilominus sensit. Illi denique dictum est: Fides tua te salvum fecit; huic autem non. Duos quoque recens mortuos, tertium iam quatriduanum, lego resuscitatos; solam tamen, in domo adhuc positam , precibus patris; duos autem ex insperata magnitudine pietatis.
Scripture echoes
- ↩Mark.10.52;Luke.17.19 — And Jesus said to him, "Go; your faith has made you well." And immediately he received his sight and followed him on the way. Luke.17.19 — And he said to him, 'Rise and go; your faith has saved you.'
Notes
- 1 ↩Illuminator (illuminatoris) is a Christological title; rendered as a proper epithet to preserve the theological weight.
- 2 ↩"Your faith has saved you" echoes multiple Gospel healing sayings (e.g., Mark 10:52, Luke 17:19); the specific referent is unresolved.
- 3 ↩The passage harmonizes the raising of Jairus's daughter (Mark 5:35–42, still in the house), the widow's son at Nain (Luke 7:11–15, recently dead), and Lazarus (John 11:1–44, four days dead). The author attributes the first to the father's prayers and the latter two to the sheer magnitude of divine piety/compassion.
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