The Steps of Humility and Pride

by Bernard of Clairvaux

Publisher:

Cistercian Publications

, 1973

Overview

The son of burgundian nobility, Bernard admitted after years of struggle that humility remained for him the most elusive of the virtues. Yet the uncompromising vehemence of his love for God made him strive for what monastic tradition taught is indispensable to anyone hoping to share God’s perfect love.

Contents

Top Highlights

“All the virtues are interconnected; the truly humble man is also truthful and courageous.” (Page 2)

“We must look for truth in ourselves; in our neighbors; in itself. We look for truth in ourselves when we judge ourselves;⁵⁰ in our neighbors when we have sympathy for their sufferings;⁵¹ in itself when we contemplate it with a clean heart.” (Page 34)

“Bernard pauses to speak of the three fruits to be gained by mounting these steps of humility: humility itself, love and contemplation. These correspond to the three degrees of truth, or more accurately as Bernard notes, the three degrees of perception of truth; the truth in oneself, the truth in one’s neighbor and the Truth in itself.” (Pages 8–9)

“For what else is pride but, as a saint has defined it, the love of one’s own excellence.” (Page 42)

“If love can make you blind or too lenient in regard to the faults of a friend, what will your self-love do when you consider your own faults?” (Page 43)

Product Details

• Title: The Steps of Humility and Pride
• Author: Bernard of Clairvaux
• Series: Cistercian Fathers Series
• Volume: 13A
• Publisher: Cistercian Publications
• Print Publication Date: 1973
• Logos Release Date: 2020
• Pages: 89
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
• Subject: Humility
• ISBNs: 9780879071158, 087907115X
• Resource ID: LLS:BCSTPSHMLTYPRDE
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2024-03-25T19:12:08Z

About Bernard of Clairvaux

Bernard of Clairvaux (1090–1153) was a French abbot, confessor, saint, and Doctor of the Church. He is honored as a founder of the Cistercian order because of his role in popularizing the order in the twelfth century. He takes his name from a monastery he founded on June 25, 1115—soon after joining the Cistercians. He named the monastery Claire Vallée, which evolved into Clairvaux. St. Bernard spent 40 years in cloister, but wielded considerable influence in the Church during that time—working to end a schism, combat heresy, and start the Second Crusade. After his death, he was canonized by Pope Alexander III in 1174. His numerous theological writings are so timeless and powerful that they earned him the title of Doctor of the Church in 1830, and Pope Pius XII wrote an encyclical on him, Doctor Mellifluus, in 1953.