That We Must Be on Our Guard against Uttering Words That May Redound to Our Praise

| Nes saints and masters of spiritual life, Basil, Gregory, Bernard, and others, advise us carefully to beware of uttering words that may redound to our own praise and credit, according to holy Toby’s advice to his son: Never allow pride to reign in thy thoughts, or in thy speech (Tob. iv. 14). The Apostle had said sundry great things of himself, because so it was expedient for his hearers and for the greater glory of God; and he might have said things still greater, since he had been rapt to the third heaven, where he saw and understood more than tongue can utter, but he refrained from saying them, as he says, lest anyone should think of me more than there is and is seen in me (II Cor. xii. 6). “Oh, how well said,” cries St. Bernard, ‘Gs that I refrain now from that. The proud and arrogant man refrains from none of these things; he lets pass no occasion for showing off any good point that he has about him, but rather sometimes he piles on additions and says more than is true, to be more regarded and valued the more. It is only the truly humble man who lets slip these occasions and, that they may not take him for more than he is, tries to cover up what he really is.” And going down to particulars he says: “Never say anything whence you may appear more learned, or more religious, or a man of prayer”’—and, generally, anything that may redound to your praise in any manner whatsoever. Always beware of saying that, since it is a very dangerous thing, although you might say it with much truth and even with edification, and you fancy you say it for the good and profit of another; since it concerns you, that is enough for your not saying it. You should always be very cautious on this point, not to lose thereby the good that you may possibly have done.

St. Bonaventure says: “Never utter words that may give the impression that you have knowledge, ability, or genius beyond the ordinary; nor again say anything whence others may conclude that you were somebody of consequence there in the world.” It looks very bad in a religious to vaunt himself of the nobility or rank of his people, since all these details of lineage and rank are a mere puff of wind. Someone has well said: “What is nobility good for? To despise it,” as we despise riches. All that counts here in religion is virtue and humility. That it is that is valued; whatever you were or were not in the world, it is all smoke. Whoever in religion plumes himself on these things or makes account of them, shows well his vanity and want of spiritual sense; such a one has not left nor spurned the world. St. Basil says: “He who has been born with a new birth, and has contracted a spiritual and divine relationship with God and received power to be His son, is ashamed of his other carnal parentage and forgets ite In any man whatsoever, words of self-praise sound bad; and so the proverb says: “Praise is a cheap article in your own mouth.” And the Wise Man says it better: Let another praise thee, and not thine own mouth; a stranger, and not thine own lips (Prov. xxvii. 2). But in the mouth of a religious such words sound still worse, as being contrary to his profession; and so from what he expected to enhance his reputation, there ensues a loss of reputation and credit. St. Ambrose on those words of the prophet, Behold my lowliness and rescue me (Psalm exviii. 153), says: “Though a person be sickly, poor, and of low condition, if he is not proud and makes no attempt to set himself above anyone, he gets to be loved and prized for his humility; that stands in stead of everything.” And, contrariwise, though a man be very rich, noble, and powerful, and though he be a great scholar and of high parts and abilities, yet if he boasts and uplifts himself therein, he thereby lessens and lowers himself and comes to be despised and discredited because he comes to be accounted proud.

History tells of the Abbot Arsenius that, though in the world he had been so illustrious and eminent in letters—he had been tutor to Arcadius and Honorius, sons of the Emperor Theodosius, who were themselves afterwards emperors—nevertheless, from the time he became a monk, no one ever heard a word from him redolent of such grandeur or conveying the impression that he was a man of letters; rather he conversed and dealt with the other monks with as much humility and plainness as though he had no acquaintance with letters; and he questioned the simplest monks on matters of spirituality, saying that in that highest of sciences he was not worthy to be their disciple. And of the blessed St. Jerome it is said in his Life that, though he was of very noble birth, there is not a word in his writings to give any hint of the same.

St. Bonaventure gives another excellent reason. Know, he says, that there can be hardly anything in you good and worthy of praise, but that it will shine through to others, and they will understand and know it. If you are silent and hide it, you will be well liked and more worthy of praise, as well for your good quality as for your trying to hide it; but if you display it and make a brave show of it, they will make game of you; and where they were ready to take edification from you and value you, they will come to disparage and make light of you. Virtue in this is like musk; the more you hide it, the more will it show itself by the perfume that it gives out; whereas if you carry it about uncovered, it will presently lose its scent.

St. Gregory relates how a holy abbot named Eleutherius went once on a journey, and coming to a monastery of nuns was hospitably received in a certain house where dwelt a youth much tormented by the devil, who was his companion that night. Morning came, and the nuns asked if anything had happened to the youth that night. He answered, No. Then they told him that he was grievously tormented by the devil every night and begged him earnestly to take him with him to his monastery. The old man granted their request; and when he had been with him in the community for some time without the old enemy’s daring to approach, the old man was touched with some inordinate joy and vain satisfaction over the youth’s recovery; and in conversation with his monks he said: “The devil was playing the fool, brethren, with those nuns, tormenting the youth; but now that he has come to a monastery of the servants of God, he hag not dared to come near him.” As he said these words, of a sudden before them all the youth was tormented by the devil. At seeing it, the old man began to weep bitterly, seeing that his vainglory had been the cause of this mishap; and by way of consoling the monks he told them that none of them should have a mouthful to eat until they had obtained the recovery of that youth. They all prostrated in prayer and did not rise from it until the sick man was cured. Hence will be seen how God abhors any words that contain any savor of self-praise, though spoken only in jest, by way of a pleasant joke, as it seems that this saint said them.