Pride and humility come up again and again in the holy books. Some warn that pride comes before a fall. Others praise people who do not boast. Each quote is copied exactly from the book.
18 Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall. 19 Better it is to be of an humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud.
11 For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.
7. R. Levitas of Jabneh said, Be exceeding lowly of spirit, for the hope of man is the worm.
Thence thou canst learn, that everyone who maketh himself humble is raised up by the Holy One, blessed be He, and one who is arrogant is humbled by the Holy One, blessed be He. He who pursueth greatness, the greatness escapeth him, and he who avoideth greatness is sought by greatness.
63 The (faithful) slaves of the Beneficent are they who walk upon the earth modestly, and when the foolish ones address them answer: Peace
18 Turn not thy cheek in scorn toward folk, nor walk with pertness in the land. Lo! Allah loveth not each braggart boaster. 19 Be modest in thy bearing and subdue thy voice.
Humbleness, truthfulness, and harmlessness, Patience and honour, reverence for the wise.
He who beareth not malice towards others but is kind to all, who being weak disputeth not with others, who speaketh not arrogantly, and forgeteth a quarrel, is praised everywhere.
63. The fool who knows his foolishness, is wise at least so far. But a fool who thinks himself wise, he is called a fool indeed.
2. Therefore the sage holds in his embrace the one thing (of humility), and manifests it to all the world. He is free from self-display, and therefore he shines; from self-assertion, and therefore he is distinguished; from self-boasting, and therefore his merit is acknowledged; from self-complacency, and therefore he acquires superiority.
The highest excellence is like (that of) water. The excellence of water appears in its benefiting all things, and in its occupying, without striving (to the contrary), the low place which all men dislike. Hence (its way) is near to (that of) the Tao.
Sweetness and humility, O Nanak, are the essence of virtue and goodness. Everyone bows down to himself; no one bows down to another. When something is placed on the balancing scale and weighed, the side which descends is heavier.
What is the first business of the philosopher? To cast away conceit: for it is impossible for a man to begin learning what he thinks he knows.
Every quote on this page is checked word for word against the stored text of its book.