HOME
Intro. MT ST TEI Ethics TPT Corr. Index PrevPg NextPg

Short Treatise on God, Man, and His Well-Being:
Part 2, Chapter 08.
- ON ESTEEM AND CONTEMPT, &c.
[Note]: B enumerates all the topics in the heading of this and the following chapters.

  ST208-P01. PREV - NEXT - THIS - UPPER - TOP
    We shall now proceed to speak of Esteem and Contempt, of Self-respect and Humility, of Conceit and Culpable Humility. We shall take them in the above order, and try to distinguish accurately what is good and what is bad in them.

  ST208-P02. PREV - NEXT - THIS - UPPER - TOP
    Esteem and Contempt are felt in so far as we know a thing to be something great or small, be this great or little thing in us or outside us.[N1]
[Note N1]: B begins this chapter as follows: In order to distinguish thoroughly the good and evil in these Passions we shall take them up in turn, beginning with Esteem and Contempt, which refer to something known that is in or outside us, the first relating to something great, the last, to something small.

  ST208-P03. PREV - NEXT - THIS - UPPER - TOP
    Self-respect does not extend [to anything] outside us, and is only attributed to one who knows the real worth of his perfection, dispassionately and without seeking esteem for himself.

  ST208-P04. PREV - NEXT - THIS - UPPER - TOP
    Humility is felt when any one knows his own imperfection, without regard to the contempt [of others] for himself; [N1] so that Humility does not refer to anything outside the humble man.
[Note N1]: B: without any self-contempt.

  ST208-P05. PREV - NEXT - THIS - UPPER - TOP
    Conceit is this, when some one attributes to himself a perfection which is not to be found in him.

  ST208-P06. PREV - NEXT - THIS - UPPER - TOP
    Culpable humility is this, when some one attributes to himself an imperfection which he has not. I am not speaking of those hypocrites who, without meaning it, humble themselves in order to deceive others;[N1] but only of those who really think they have the imperfections which they attribute to themselves.
[Note N1]: B: who without really meaning, it make a show of humbling themselves simply in order to deceive others.

  ST208-P07. PREV - NEXT - THIS - UPPER - TOP
    From these observations it is sufficiently evident what good and evil there is in each of these passions. For, as regards Self-respect and Humility, these show their excellence through themselves. For we say that the possessor there of knows his perfection and imperfection for what it is.[N1] And this, according to what Reason teaches us, is the most important thing for the attainment of our perfection. Because if we know exactly our powers and perfection, we see thereby clearly what it is we have to do in order to attain our good end. And, on the other hand, if we know our fault and frailty, then we know what we have to avoid.
[Note N1]: B: for their true worth.

  ST208-P08. PREV - NEXT - THIS - UPPER - TOP
    As regards Conceit and Culpable Humility, the definition of them already shows *sufficiently* that they arise from a certain opinion; for we said that it [conceit] is attributed to one who ascribes to himself a certain perfection, although he does not possess it, and culpable humility is the precise opposite.

  ST208-P09. PREV - NEXT - THIS - UPPER - TOP
    From what has just been said it is evident, then, that just as Self-respect and True Humility are good and salutary, so, on the contrary Conceit and Culpable Humility are bad and pernicious. For those [Self-respect and True Humility] not only put their possessor into a very good attitude, but are also, besides, the right ladder by which we may rise to supreme bliss. But these [Conceit and Culpable Humility] not only prevent us from attaining to our perfection, but also lead us to utter ruin. Culpable Humility is what prevents us from doing that which we should otherwise have to do in order to become perfect; we see this, for instance, in the case of the Sceptics, who; just because they deny that man can attain to any truth, deprive themselves thereof through this very denial. Conceit *on the other hand* is what makes us undertake things which tend straight to our ruin; as is seen in the case of all those who had the conceit, and have the conceit, that they stood, and stand, wondrously well in the opinion of God, and consequently brave fire and water, and thus, avoiding no danger, and facing every risk, they die most miserably.

  ST208-P10. PREV - NEXT - THIS - UPPER - TOP
    As regards Esteem and Contempt, there is no more to be said about them, we have only to recall to memory what we said before about Love.
 
Intro. MT ST TEI Ethics TPT Corr. Index PrevPg NextPg
 
 
Slack padding.