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Humility: Wellspring of Virtue
Of all sins, pride is the most dangerous . . . and the most sorrowful: it cuts you off from God, estranges you from others, and leaves you lost and unhappy. These pages show you how to drive pride from your soul. You'll learn to recognize its many forms (including some that masquerade as virtue), and you'll come to see just why they're such barriers to happiness and to holiness. You'll also discover the incredible strength of humility, the only virtue that has the power to expel every vestige of pride from your soul. These pages will help you to begin experiencing the joys of humility today. You'll learn:
• -Why humility is a form of strength not weakness (as many falsely believe)
• -Why it is impossible to grow spiritually without humility
• -How humility breaks the back of every form of pride
• -How humility enables you to acknowledge even your gravest sins without despairing
• -How humility helps you to see the world clearly, and to love all things in it with greater intensity
• -How humility allows you to experience the consolation of God's loving embrace
• -Why only humility ensures true freedom
• -How humility enables you to see God not as a vague presence, but as a Person who knows and loves you
• -How humility helps you to see the dignity of every person (even the dignity of those you re tempted to scorn)
• -How humility lets you hear God calling you personally to life with Him
• -Why you best imitate Christ, Mary, and the saints by striving for humility
• -And much more!
• -Why humility is a form of strength not weakness (as many falsely believe)
• -Why it is impossible to grow spiritually without humility
• -How humility breaks the back of every form of pride
• -How humility enables you to acknowledge even your gravest sins without despairing
• -How humility helps you to see the world clearly, and to love all things in it with greater intensity
• -How humility allows you to experience the consolation of God's loving embrace
• -Why only humility ensures true freedom
• -How humility enables you to see God not as a vague presence, but as a Person who knows and loves you
• -How humility helps you to see the dignity of every person (even the dignity of those you re tempted to scorn)
• -How humility lets you hear God calling you personally to life with Him
• -Why you best imitate Christ, Mary, and the saints by striving for humility
• -And much more!
109 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1990
About the author
Dietrich von Hildebrand
80 books225 followersDietrich von Hildebrand was a German Catholic philosopher and theologian who was called (informally) by Pope Pius XII "the 20th Century Doctor of the Church."
Pope John Paul II greatly admired the work of von Hildebrand, remarking once to von Hildebrand's widow, Alice von Hildebrand, "Your husband is one of the great ethicists of the twentieth century." Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI has a particular admiration and regard for Dietrich von Hildebrand, whom he already knew as a young priest in Munich. In fact, as young Fr. Ratzinger, he even served as an assistant pastor in the church of St. Georg in Munich, which von Hildebrand frequented in the 1950s and 1960s. It was also in St. Georg that Dietrich and Alice von Hildebrand were married.
The degree of Pope Benedict's esteem is expressed in one of his statements about von Hildebrand, "When the intellectual history of the Catholic Church in the twentieth century is written, the name of Dietrich von Hildebrand will be most prominent among the figures of our time." Von Hildebrand was a vocal critic of the changes in the church brought by the Second Vatican Council. He especially resented the new liturgy. Of it he said "Truly, if one of the devils in C.S. Lewis' The Screwtape Letters had been entrusted with the ruin of the liturgy, he could not have done it better."
Von Hildebrand died in New Rochelle, New York, in 1977.
Pope John Paul II greatly admired the work of von Hildebrand, remarking once to von Hildebrand's widow, Alice von Hildebrand, "Your husband is one of the great ethicists of the twentieth century." Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI has a particular admiration and regard for Dietrich von Hildebrand, whom he already knew as a young priest in Munich. In fact, as young Fr. Ratzinger, he even served as an assistant pastor in the church of St. Georg in Munich, which von Hildebrand frequented in the 1950s and 1960s. It was also in St. Georg that Dietrich and Alice von Hildebrand were married.
The degree of Pope Benedict's esteem is expressed in one of his statements about von Hildebrand, "When the intellectual history of the Catholic Church in the twentieth century is written, the name of Dietrich von Hildebrand will be most prominent among the figures of our time." Von Hildebrand was a vocal critic of the changes in the church brought by the Second Vatican Council. He especially resented the new liturgy. Of it he said "Truly, if one of the devils in C.S. Lewis' The Screwtape Letters had been entrusted with the ruin of the liturgy, he could not have done it better."
Von Hildebrand died in New Rochelle, New York, in 1977.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
August 18, 2026
I like to keep a miniature book in my purse at all times for moments when I find myself stuck somewhere with nothing good to read. Not only must the book be short in length; it also must be tiny in size. The wonderful Eighth Day Books in Wichita, Kansas is one of my favorite places to find such books—they have stacks of ultra petit books everywhere. Anyways, this was my tiny purse book for the past several months. When it comes purse books, I am willing to read more broadly than I normally would. For example, this Catholic philosopher. I appreciated his definition of true humility, though he made my head spin with his many, many variations on pride. I didn't realize there were so many different ways to be prideful! I also felt my Protestantism chafing against some of his assertions at times. I just wanted to say to him, dude, the human person cannot even fathom the depths of his pride, let alone fight it without the Lord's help. But, I was humbled, chastened, and stretched in a good way by this book. A good purse book!
February 19, 2018
A few life changing paragraphs made the whole book worthwhile. Though I would prefer to give this one a 3.5.
Warnings: He's verbose, and he was a philosophy professor. If you don't have a basic philosophical background you may find that he's talking over you for much of it.
Warnings: He's verbose, and he was a philosophy professor. If you don't have a basic philosophical background you may find that he's talking over you for much of it.
May 6, 2020
Quotes:
"This is precisely the test of true humility, that one no longer presumes to judge whether or not one is too miserable to be included in the call to sanctity but simply answers the merciful love of God by sinking down into adoration."
"The question whether I feel worthy to be called is beside the point; that God has called is the one thing that matters."
The more our life is permeated by God, the simpler it becomes. This simplicity is defined by the inward unity which our life assumes because we no longer seek for any but one end: God.”
― Dietrich von Hildebrand, Transformation In Christ
“the one who desecrates the mystery of sex by seeing in it a harmless satisfaction of a bodily instinct, who approaches the world having extinguished the light of morality, moves in a dull, falsified world without depth, without thrill, without grandeur. His world is the magnified office of a psychoanalyst. He is not tragic; rather, he is immersed in hopeless boredom because it is the moral light, the great tension of good and evil, which elevates and widens human life beyond the frontiers of our earthly existence. As Kierkegaard said, “The ethical is the very breath of the eternal.”
― Dietrich von Hildebrand, Man, Woman, and the Meaning of Love: God's Plan for Love, Marriage, Intimacy, and the Family
“On the other hand, every virtue and every good deed turns worthless if pride creeps into it - which happens whenever in some fashion we glory in our goodness.”
― Dietrich von Hildebrand, Humility: Wellspring of Virtue
“To whom will the sublime beauty of a sunset or a Ninth Symphony of Beethoven reveal itself, but to him who approaches it reverently and unlocks his heart to it? To whom will the mystery that lies in life and manifests itself in every plant reveal itself in its full splendor, but to him who contemplates it reverently? But he who sees in it only a means of subsistence or of earning money, that is, something that can be used or employed, will not discover the meaning, structure, and significance of the world in its beauty and hidden dignity.”
― Dietrich von Hildebrand, The Art of Living
“The basic attitude of reverence is the presupposition for every true love, above all, the love of neighbor, because it alone opens our eyes to the value of men as spiritual persons, and because, without this awareness, no love is possible. Reverence for the beloved one is also an essential element of every love. To give attention to the specific meaning and value of his individuality, to display consideration toward him, instead of forcing our wishes on him, is part of reverence. It is from reverence that there flows the willingness of a lover to grant the beloved the spiritual "space" needed to freely express his own individuality. All these elements of every true love flow from reverence. What would a mother's love be without reverence for the growing being, for all the possibilities of value that yet lie dormant, for the preciousness of the child's soul?”
― Dietrich von Hildebrand, The Art of Living
“[On "baptizing" all of our actions:] "In constant awareness of our determination to belong to Christ and to perform all our activities as His servants, we must incorporate even the trivial details of our daily routine into the essential meaning and direction of our life." [Chapter 5, True Simplicity, p. 94]”
― Dietrich von Hildebrand
"This is precisely the test of true humility, that one no longer presumes to judge whether or not one is too miserable to be included in the call to sanctity but simply answers the merciful love of God by sinking down into adoration."
"The question whether I feel worthy to be called is beside the point; that God has called is the one thing that matters."
The more our life is permeated by God, the simpler it becomes. This simplicity is defined by the inward unity which our life assumes because we no longer seek for any but one end: God.”
― Dietrich von Hildebrand, Transformation In Christ
“the one who desecrates the mystery of sex by seeing in it a harmless satisfaction of a bodily instinct, who approaches the world having extinguished the light of morality, moves in a dull, falsified world without depth, without thrill, without grandeur. His world is the magnified office of a psychoanalyst. He is not tragic; rather, he is immersed in hopeless boredom because it is the moral light, the great tension of good and evil, which elevates and widens human life beyond the frontiers of our earthly existence. As Kierkegaard said, “The ethical is the very breath of the eternal.”
― Dietrich von Hildebrand, Man, Woman, and the Meaning of Love: God's Plan for Love, Marriage, Intimacy, and the Family
“On the other hand, every virtue and every good deed turns worthless if pride creeps into it - which happens whenever in some fashion we glory in our goodness.”
― Dietrich von Hildebrand, Humility: Wellspring of Virtue
“To whom will the sublime beauty of a sunset or a Ninth Symphony of Beethoven reveal itself, but to him who approaches it reverently and unlocks his heart to it? To whom will the mystery that lies in life and manifests itself in every plant reveal itself in its full splendor, but to him who contemplates it reverently? But he who sees in it only a means of subsistence or of earning money, that is, something that can be used or employed, will not discover the meaning, structure, and significance of the world in its beauty and hidden dignity.”
― Dietrich von Hildebrand, The Art of Living
“The basic attitude of reverence is the presupposition for every true love, above all, the love of neighbor, because it alone opens our eyes to the value of men as spiritual persons, and because, without this awareness, no love is possible. Reverence for the beloved one is also an essential element of every love. To give attention to the specific meaning and value of his individuality, to display consideration toward him, instead of forcing our wishes on him, is part of reverence. It is from reverence that there flows the willingness of a lover to grant the beloved the spiritual "space" needed to freely express his own individuality. All these elements of every true love flow from reverence. What would a mother's love be without reverence for the growing being, for all the possibilities of value that yet lie dormant, for the preciousness of the child's soul?”
― Dietrich von Hildebrand, The Art of Living
“[On "baptizing" all of our actions:] "In constant awareness of our determination to belong to Christ and to perform all our activities as His servants, we must incorporate even the trivial details of our daily routine into the essential meaning and direction of our life." [Chapter 5, True Simplicity, p. 94]”
― Dietrich von Hildebrand
May 8, 2023
Wonderful excerpt on the vital importance of humilty as an antidote to pride.
Von Hildebrand does a great job in reminding us of the seriousness of the sin of pride (the satanic gesture par excellance) and positing humility as one of the prime Christian virtues, indeed the prerequisite for the other virtues.
My favorite part of the book is the thoughtful reflection on how pride can arise even from the contemplation of, and our releving in, our own perceived virtue (including our "humility") and how this self-satisfaction destroys the very merit of our ethical acts.
The solution is then far more complicated than a mere disavowal of social vanity; it lies in cultivating a true sense of our worthlessness before God and our status as sinners in need of Grace; in keeping a vigilant attitude againt self-importance and following Jesus Christ's calls (and His example) of emptying and reducing our selves so that we may be wounded by divine love.
Von Hildebrand does a great job in reminding us of the seriousness of the sin of pride (the satanic gesture par excellance) and positing humility as one of the prime Christian virtues, indeed the prerequisite for the other virtues.
My favorite part of the book is the thoughtful reflection on how pride can arise even from the contemplation of, and our releving in, our own perceived virtue (including our "humility") and how this self-satisfaction destroys the very merit of our ethical acts.
The solution is then far more complicated than a mere disavowal of social vanity; it lies in cultivating a true sense of our worthlessness before God and our status as sinners in need of Grace; in keeping a vigilant attitude againt self-importance and following Jesus Christ's calls (and His example) of emptying and reducing our selves so that we may be wounded by divine love.
July 18, 2023
“… the higher he has risen objectively, the more clearly he sees the abyss that separates him from the infinite holiness of God. He measures his station, not by what he represents absolutely, but by the distance between what he has received from God and what he has actually accomplished.”
“He yearns for the practice of obedience; he is glad to suffer slights, and is avid for contempt and rebuke. It is here that we reach the mysterious innermost core of Christian humility.”
“He yearns for the practice of obedience; he is glad to suffer slights, and is avid for contempt and rebuke. It is here that we reach the mysterious innermost core of Christian humility.”
June 23, 2020
Excellent book! Offers a lot to think about and ultimately take to prayer. The book fits within his entire system of thought so having some background in VonHildebrand’s other works is helpful, especially when it comes to his vocabulary. For example, his discussion of “values.”
May 15, 2018
Good read, kinda of repetitive but still solid information to take from this book.
June 21, 2019
Very challenging to understand. I read most of it with a dictionary to look up all the words I didn't know.
January 3, 2020
The kind of book to read in small bites- sometimes just a paragraph at a time to really digest.
February 27, 2020
Reading this book makes me realize how cultivating the virtue of humility is a lifelong task and requires great effort on our part.
February 5, 2021
My type nailed “Haughty”
A little over my head in places.
The description of Haughty was exactly the pride I need to eliminate from my life.
A little over my head in places.
The description of Haughty was exactly the pride I need to eliminate from my life.
July 12, 2021
Short but deep yet practical. A bit scholarly but manageable.
October 12, 2021
Very good
March 17, 2023
4.5/5*
December 30, 2024
A moving spiritual read worth investing a week to dive deep. Takes 1 chapter a day, ponder and pray. Excellent.
March 29, 2025
A simple, short read but challenging nonetheless. He has excellent explanations of what humility is and various forms that pride can take.
July 20, 2024
I believe this is one of my new favorite little spiritual treatises and I only have high praise for it. It is a section of a larger work of Hildebrand’s, but this book can be read in less than two hours. He distinguishes between various of the dispositions that oppose humility (ie vanity, self complacency, pharasaism) and so beautifully illuminates the true nature of humility. For those who may not be as familiar with von Hildebrand’s style and some of his terminology, it may be a little more difficult, but overall I find it pretty approachable and incredibly beautiful. And as with most other spiritual works, reading it from a place of contemplation will best aid grasp of what he’s discussing. I’ll end this comment with one of my favorite lines, towards the end of the work: "Humility bursts the bonds of all narrowness; through it, even a personality insignificant by nature will acquire width and greatness. For it is only the humble soul, the soul that has emptied itself, which can be fully penetrated by the divine Life it has received in holy Baptism; and it is upon such a soul that there falls a reflection of the greatness and infinitude of God."
October 26, 2015
Great Book
This book is great book. It is a very spiritual book and he doesn't push the Catholic faith and down anyone's throat. I am a devout Catholic and I learned many things about faith and deepened my faith, trust, and love in God.
This book is great book. It is a very spiritual book and he doesn't push the Catholic faith and down anyone's throat. I am a devout Catholic and I learned many things about faith and deepened my faith, trust, and love in God.
April 16, 2015
Good little book on the foundational virtue of all virtues. Great author.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews