How a man schal have hym agens stirynges of pride and of alle othere vices.
Discerning and Resisting Pride
The author instructs the reader to watch their affections and actively mortify the stirrings of pride by refusing to believe its false promises.
After such a complete rising against yourself, once it has passed you'll govern yourself more soberly and more easily, and settle yourself more firmly so as to keep yourself and your thoughts under watch in your affections, and know whether they are good or bad. Then, if you feel a stirring of pride or anything like it, notice it quickly if you can, and don't let it slip away lightly; take it into your mind, tear it apart, break it, despise it, and heap all the shame on it that you can.1 Make sure you don't spare it, and don't believe it, no matter how fairly it speaks—for it is false even when it seems true, as the prophet says: Popule meus, qui beatum te dicunt ipsi te decipiunt, et in errorem te ducunt (Isaiah 3:12).✦ That is to say: You who are of my people, those who say you are blessed and holy deceive you and lead you into error. And if you do this often and diligently, by the grace of Jesus you'll soon stop much of the springing of pride and greatly lessen the vain delight of it, so that you'll scarcely feel it. And when you do feel it, it will be so weak—nearly dead, as it were—that it won't harm you much.2 Then you'll be able to have a spiritual sight of humility—how good and beautiful it is—and you'll desire and love it for its own goodness, so that you'll be glad to look at yourself as you are, and if need be, to suffer scorn and reproof gladly for the love of righteousness.3
Battling the Stirrings of Vice
The reader is encouraged to resist involuntary stirrings of anger and other vices through the fear of God, understanding that resistance prevents these impulses from defiling the soul.
In the same way, when you feel stirrings of anger, and a malicious rising of the heart, or too much ill will against your fellow Christian for any kind of reason—though it seems reasonable and for charity—beware of it, and be ready with your mind to restrain it, so that it doesn't turn into fleshly appetite. Resist it, and don't follow it either in word or in deed, as much as you can; but as soon as it rises, strike it down again. And so you'll kill it with the sword of the fear of God, so that it will not harm you. For know well, in all these stirrings of pride, envy, vainglory, or any other: as soon as you notice it, and with the displeasure of your will and your reason you resist it, you kill it — even if it still clings to your heart against your will and will not easily go away.4 Don't fear it; for it hinders your soul from peace, but it does not defile your soul. You should act the same way against all evil stirrings of greed, sloth, gluttony, and lust: always be ready with your reason and your will to reprove and despise them.5
Read the original Latin
Aftir sich an hool risynge agen thisilf, whanne it is passid thou schal the more sobirli and more esili rule thisilf and sette thee more saadli for to kepe thisilf and thi thoughtes in thyne affecciouns, for to knowe hem whethir thei ben good or badde. Thanne yif thou feele a stirynge of pride, or ony othir spice of it, be soone waar yif thou mai, and suffre hit not lightli passe awai, but take in thi mynde and rende it, breke it and dispice it, and doo al the schame that thou mai therto. Loke that thou spare it not, ne trowe it not, speke he nevere so faire, for it is fals though it seme sooth, as the prophete seith: Popule meus, qui beatum te dicunt ipsi te decipiunt, et in errorem te ducunt (Isaiah 3:12). This is to saie thus: Thou man of my peple, thei that seyn thou art blissid and holi, thei bigile thee and brynge thee into errour. And yif thou doo ofte thus bisili, thou schalt bi grace of Jhesu withinne schort tyme stoppe moche of the spryng of pride and moche abate the veyn delite therof, that thou schal unnethis fele it. And whanne thou felest it, it schal be so weyke, and as it were neerhande deed, that it schal not moche deere thee. And thanne schalt thou mow have a goostli sight of mekenesse, hou good and hou faire it is, and thou schalt desire it and love it for the goodnesse of itsilf, that thee schal like for to biholde as thou art, and yif nede be for to suffre gladli dispite and reprof for the love of rightwisenesse. Upon the self maner whanne thou feelist stirynges of ire, and malicious risynge of herte, or overmoche yvel wil agens thyn even Cristene for ony maner of cause, though it seme resonable and for charité, bewaar of it and be redi with thi thought for to refreyne it, that hit turne not into fleschli appetite.
Agenstonde it, and folwe hit not neither in word ne in deede, as moche as thou mai, but as he riseth smyte him doun agen; and so schalt thou slee it with the swerd of drede of God, that it schal not dere thee. For wite thou wel in alle thise stirynges of pride, envie, veynglorie, or ony othir, that as sone that thou perceyvest it, and with displesynge of thi wille and of thi resoun thou agenstondist it, thou sleest it, though it so be that it cleve stille upon thyn herte agens thi wille, and wole not lightli passe awai. Drede it not; for it letteth thi soule from pees, but it defouleth not thi soule. Right so upon the same wise schalt thou doo agens alle yvele stirynges of covetise, accidie, glotonye, and leccherie, that thou schal be ay redi with thy reson and with thi wille for to reprove hem and despice hem.
Scripture echoes
- ↩Isa.3.12 — My people—your leaders are children, and women rule over them. My people, your guides lead you astray, and the way of your paths they swallow up.
Notes
- 1 ↩spice = species/kind/form of pride, not culinary 'spice'.
- 2 ↩deere = harm/injure (not 'dear').
- 3 ↩mekenesse rendered as humility (Hilton's interior lowliness), not mere mild temperament.
- 4 ↩Hilton treats deliberate resistance by will and reason as already 'killing' the vice, even while the feeling may still cling to the heart unwillingly.
- 5 ↩ME 'accidie' is the capital-sin term acedia; rendered as 'sloth' for modern readability, keeping the seven-vices sense rather than mere laziness.
Scala Perfectionis (The Scale of Perfection) companion
A daily portion of stillness
Chosen Portion delivers one short contemplative reading and a guided moment of silence each day — the ascent, one step at a time.
Chosen Portion is the paced doorway into this collection: it portions the dense mystical treatises into one daily reading plus guided silence, exactly as the 14-day plan teaches.
- Daily bite-sized excerpts from the contemplative classics, never a wall of text
- A built-in timed stillness practice that grows from 2 minutes to 10
- Gentle progression through the tradition — the app remembers where you are on the ascent