Hillsdale College

Humility

Govern the desires for honor, glory, and esteem.

StoriesPoemsLives of Virtue

Humility is the moral virtue that moderates the desire for honor and inclines us to recognize our own worth in its true light. The habit of humility restrains us from pursuing honors that are unfitting or unattainable without falling into excessive self-deprecation. The virtues of humility and magnanimity are both required to pursue greatness properly: where magnanimity enables us to overcome the difficulties that are inherent in noble action, humility prevents us from desiring greatness inordinately.

The virtue of humility helps us to see ourselves correctly, with not too much or too little pride. It lessens our desire for life to be all about us and allows us to think of others before ourselves.

Related Virtues

Moderation

Featured Stories

PinocchioCarlo Collodi
Grade 1-4

Story

Johnny TremainEsther Hoskins Forbes
Grade 4-6

Story

King Midas and the Golden TouchFrom What Your Kindergartner Needs to KnowE.D. Hirsch Jr. and John Holdren
Grade K-2

Story

Snow White and the Seven DwarfsJacob and Wilhelm Grimm
Grade K-3

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The Tortoise & the HareJerry Pinkney
Grade K-3

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"The Tortoise and the Hare"From The Children's Book of VirtuesWilliam J. Bennett
Grade K-3

Story

More Stories
Poems about Humility

And all the men and women merely players...

"All the world's a stage"
By William Shakespeare
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If you can keep your head when all about you Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,

If
By Rudyard Kipling
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They all were looking for a king...

The Holy Thing
By George MacDonald
Read More of The Holy Thing

I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass,

The Summer Day
By Mary Oliver
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Down in a green and shady bed, A modest violet grew...

The Violet
By Jane Taylor
Read More of The Violet

Lives of Virtue

Mother Teresa
Mother TeresaMother Teresa lived a life of profound virtue, dedicating herself to serving the poorest of the poor with selfless compassion and unwavering faith.