Lesson #2

Hi there......I told you last week that I'd do a post about virtues/vices etc this week, and as promised, here it is! I found two quotes (both Jane Austen this time, though I tried to go for a bit more diversity) on the topic at hand....

So, this quote is pretty self explanatory, but I wanted to include it because it struck me when I read it. It points out our common misconceptions of vanity and pride, despite the fact that the quote itself is about 200 years old. Vanity and pride are definitely related, but often confused, or as Austen says, used synonymously.

Continuing in the same vein as pride and vanity, the next quote (also from Austen's Pride and Prejudice) is about humility.

 This one is a bit more complex than the first quote......The first bit I agree with---nothing is more deceitful than the appearance of humility---and I agree for one important reason: think about people who are humble: you are more likely to trust them, you know you can depend on them, and they do their best to make you feel your best, regardless of their own feelings; in short, they are amazing individuals in whom you trust. But then think about someone you know is a liar: they are not someone you trust, they often annoy and irritate those around them, etc. What if your supposedly humble, trustworthy friend turned out to be an untrustworthy liar. Obviously you would be furious, because you trusted this person and thought they were a good friend. All in agreement? Good, moving on. The next part "It is often only carelessness of opinion..." is much harder to decipher. By "carelessness of opinion" I think Darcy is referring to a carelessness of opinion of their own accomplishments, which is not humility, but instead indifference. This can be considered rude, because if one seriously doesn't care about the things they've done, they are diminishing the similar accomplishments of others, and essentially telling them they have nothing to be proud of. The last part, "sometimes an indirect boast" comes easily enough after having considered the previous portion. If not humility or carelessness of opinion, the feeling toward one's own accomplishments is either a) blatantly boastful ("Look what I've done!!"--not even an attempt to be humble) or b) indirectly boastful (Darcy's point: "Oh, that's no big matter, I've done better"/fishing for attention). This, for me anyway, is the worst kind of false humility. Those who fish for attention are not only keeping an appearance of humility, but are also inwardly consumed with pride and vanity (See first quote).

I hope you enjoyed this weeks post (if you even got through it?). Next week I'll being pulling quotes on relationships (there are TONS so this should be fun and easy).

Thanks! If you have any suggestions, comment please!

Claire