Thursday, March 4, 2021

day no. 15,473: the ardor of the arrogant and the sorrow of the milksop

"Your efforts to instill either vainglory or false modesty into the patient will therefore be met from the Enemy’s side with the obvious reminder that a man is not usually called upon to have an opinion of his own talents at all, since he can very well go on improving them to the best of his ability without deciding on his own precise niche in the temple of Fame." -- C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters

Vainglory is being overly self-congratulatory. False modesty is being overly self-deprecating. Either way, the interest is aimed inward at one's self. Either outcome delights the devils. The goal is to have faith, do your best, submit the results to God and go on with your life. That kind of humility outworks the ardor of the arrogant and dwells less on shortcomings than the sorrow of milksops. 

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