220. Humility, Charity, and the Love of Wisdom

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Lecture Notes

Main Topics #

The Connection Between Humility and Charity #

• Thomas raises the objection: if perfection consists in charity (caritas), then where there is greater charity, there is greater perfection. So why emphasize humility in spiritual exaltation?
• Thomas’s resolution: pride contains two disordered elements—a disordered affection (affectus inordinatus) and a disordered self-estimate
• Conversely, humility entails not caring for one’s own excellence (propium excelentiam non curat) and not regarding oneself as worthy (dignum)
• This humility necessarily follows upon charity (de necesitate sequitur caritatem)
• The more a person loves God, the more he loves God’s excellence and the more he condemns his own excellence
• Therefore: the more charity one has, the more humility one must have

Humility and Wonder in Philosophy #

• Humility is intrinsic to the very definition of “philosopher”—lover of wisdom
• According to legend, Pythagoras refused the title “wise” (σοφός), saying “God alone is wise” and accepting instead the title “philosopher” (φιλόσοφος), a lover of wisdom
• This etymological origin embeds humility within the philosophical enterprise from its inception
• At the end of ancient Greek philosophy, Aristotle makes the same point: either only God should be called wise, or man should only be called wise in an imperfect way
• True love of wisdom cannot exist without humility

The Balanced Requirements of the Philosopher #

• The philosopher requires both hope (that truth can be known) and fear (of being mistaken)
• Socrates exemplifies this balance: he is in “mortal fear” of thinking he knows what he doesn’t know
• Without fear of error, one becomes presumptuous; without hope, one despairs
• This mirrors the spiritual life: hope in God’s mercy and fear of divine justice must be balanced

Wonder as Excellence-Recognition #

• Thomas distinguishes two meanings of “wonder” (admiratio):
  1. Wonder arising from ignorance of the cause (which cannot exist in God)
  2. Wonder arising from apprehension of the magnitude or excellence of something
• Christ’s wonder at the centurion’s faith is of the second type—recognizing the greatness of that faith
• Aristotle noted that philosophy begins in wonder but ends in the opposite. Yet in the Metaphysics Book 12, when Aristotle arrives at God, he argues that God’s contemplative life is always wonderful
• This apparent contradiction is resolved: God’s wonder is the second type—perpetual apprehension of excellence, not ignorance of cause

Humility and Excellence in Mozart #

• Mozart exemplified humility in his artistic craft, despite extraordinary talent
• He stated: “Everything came easy to me… There is not a master in the art of music before me whose works I have not studied diligently”
• When dedicating six string quartets to Haydn, Mozart wrote: “I had to dedicate them to Haydn because he taught me how to write the string quartet”
• Mozart’s humility allowed him to recognize Haydn’s influence on his own development
• When encountering unfamiliar Bach compositions, Mozart’s response was excitement: “What is that?… This is something one can learn from”
• This demonstrates that true love of the beautiful (like love of wisdom) requires humility

The Magnificat Connection #

• The Blessed Virgin emphasizes fear rather than hope in the Magnificat (Luke 1:50)
• Just as Thomas emphasizes humility (connected to charity) rather than charity itself in the Matthew text, Mary emphasizes fear in the Magnificat
• The solution is the same: hope in God’s mercy and fear of divine justice go together; by emphasizing one, the other is implicitly invoked
• Augustine noted: “Love of God with contempt of self” makes the city of God; this reveals the intrinsic connection between charity and humility

The Centurion’s Faith (Matthew 8) #

• Christ marvels at the pagan centurion’s faith, saying: “I have not found such faith in Israel”
• The centurion demonstrates understanding of authority and obedience through his military command: “I say to this one, come, and he comes”
• This faith arises from humility—the centurion says “I am not worthy” (dignum)
• This account illustrates that faith rooted in humility produces excellence recognized even by Christ

Key Arguments #

The Charity-Humility Connection #

• Objection: Perfection lies in charity; therefore more charity = more perfection. Why emphasize humility?
• Response: Pride has two components—disordered affection and disordered self-estimate. Humility, conversely, involves not valuing one’s own excellence and not regarding oneself as worthy. But every person loves the excellence he loves; therefore, the more one loves God, the more one condemns his own excellence and the less he attributes to himself. Thus the more charity, the more humility necessarily follows.

The Philosopher’s Dual Requirement #

• Principle: The philosopher seeks truth, a difficult good. Without hope of attaining it, one despairs; without fear of error, one becomes presumptuous.
• Evidence: Socrates demonstrates perpetual fear of thinking he knows what he doesn’t know, while maintaining commitment to philosophical inquiry.
• Implication: Philosophy, like the spiritual life, requires both virtues working together.

Wonder in God #

• Apparent Problem: Aristotle says philosophy ends in knowing causes (opposite of wonder). Yet God always contemplates and is therefore always in wonder.
• Solution: Wonder has two forms—ignorance-based (impossible in God) and excellence-based (perpetual in God). Aristotle means the first type ends with knowledge; the second type characterizes God’s eternal contemplation.

Important Definitions #

Humility (ἡμιλία) #

• Not merely self-deprecation but accurate self-knowledge rooted in love of God
• Entails: not caring for one’s own excellence (propium excelentiam non curat) and not regarding oneself as worthy (dignum)
• Necessarily follows upon genuine charity (caritas)

Wonder/Admiration (admiratio) #

• First sense: Wonder arising from ignorance of the cause of a known effect (cannot exist in God or one with full knowledge)
• Second sense: Wonder arising from apprehension of magnitude or excellence of something (can exist in God and in us)
• The second form is what characterizes both human and divine contemplation

Charity (caritas) #

• The perfection of the spiritual life
• Necessarily brings with it corresponding humility
• Connected to Augustine’s formula: “Love of God with contempt of self”

Examples & Illustrations #

Pythagoras and the Origin of “Philosopher” #

• According to tradition, Pythagoras refused the title “wise” (σοφός), insisting that only God is wise
• He accepted instead “lover of wisdom” (φιλόσοφος)
• This etymological origin embeds humility within philosophy itself

Aristotle on the End of Philosophy #

• In the Metaphysics Book 1, Aristotle states philosophy begins in wonder
• In Book 12, upon arriving at God, Aristotle describes God’s eternal contemplative life as perpetually wonderful
• This seems contradictory until we distinguish two types of wonder

The Centurion’s Faith #

• A pagan soldier demonstrates greater faith than Israel
• His faith rests on understanding authority (from his military command) combined with humility (“I am not worthy”)
• Christ marvels at this excellence

Mozart’s Humility in Music #

• Despite his prodigious talent, Mozart studied all previous masters diligently
• He credited Haydn with teaching him the string quartet form
• When encountering Bach (unfamiliar to him), he responded with wonder and eagerness to learn
• His humility enabled him to recognize and incorporate influences into his work

Notable Quotes #

“For every man desires the excellence which he loves. And therefore, the more a man has of charity, the more he loves what? God. And the more he condemns, or as in contempt, his own excellence. And the less he attributes to himself. Thus, that the more a man has of charity, the more he has of what? Humility.” — St. Thomas Aquinas (on the necessity of humility in charity)

“God alone is wise. But what shall we call you then? Well, if you’ve got to call me something, call me a lover of wisdom.” — Pythagoras (legendary response, establishing the term “philosopher”)

“Everything came easy to me… There is not a master in the art of music before me whose works I have not studied diligently.” — Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (on humility in learning)

“I had to dedicate them to Haydn, because he taught me how to write the string quartet.” — Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (dedication of the Haydn Quartets)

“Love of God with contempt of self makes the city of God; love of self with contempt of God makes the city of man reversed.” — St. Augustine (from Confessions, on the charity-humility connection)

Questions Addressed #

Q1: How are humility and charity related? #

A: Humility is not separate from charity but necessarily flows from it. The more one loves God (charity), the more one recognizes God’s excellence and dismisses one’s own. Therefore greater charity entails greater humility. They go together as inseparable virtues.

Q2: Can philosophy truly exist without humility? #

A: No. The very name “philosopher”—lover of wisdom—etymologically enshrines humility, as seen in Pythagoras’s refusal to be called “wise” and his insistence that only God is wise. Both Pythagoras and Aristotle make this point at the bookends of Greek philosophy.

Q3: How must the philosopher balance hope and fear? #

A: The philosopher seeking truth (a difficult good) must maintain both hope that truth can be attained and fear of being mistaken. Without hope, he despairs; without fear, he becomes presumptuous. Socrates exemplifies this balance, constantly fearing false knowledge while pursuing wisdom.

Q4: How can Christ marvel (wonder) if He knows all things? #

A: Wonder has two forms: ignorance-based wonder (impossible in God) and excellence-based wonder (possible in God). Christ’s wonder at the centurion’s faith is the second type—recognizing the magnitude of that excellence. This resolves the apparent contradiction in Aristotle’s Metaphysics.

Q5: Why does Mary emphasize fear rather than hope in the Magnificat? #

A: Just as Thomas emphasizes humility (which necessarily accompanies charity) rather than charity itself, Mary emphasizes fear of God (which necessarily accompanies hope in mercy) rather than hope itself. By emphasizing one pole, she implies the necessary complement; this creates a balanced picture of the spiritual life.