Dr. Franklin, writing to a friend, says:
The last time I saw your father he received me in his study,
and, at my departure, showed me a shorter way out of his house,
through a narrow passage, crossed by a beam overhead. We were
talking as we withdrew, and I, turning partly toward him, he
suddenly cried, “Stoop! stoop!” I did not know what he meant
till I felt my head hit against the beam. He was a man that
never failed to impart instruction, and on this occasion said,
“You are young, and have to go through the world; stoop as you
go through it, and you will miss many hard thumps.” This advice,
thus beat into my head, has been of singular service to me, and
I have often thought of it when I have seen pride mortified and
men brought low by carrying their heads too high. (Text.)
(1459)
* * * * *
True exaltation is always accompanied by corresponding humility. Truly
great souls never rise in conscious self-aggrandizement. They sink
in self-esteem and are bowed low under a sense of responsibility in
proportion to the splendor of their achievements.
In the Alps the eagle soars up higher and higher till its
figure is a mere speck in the zenith. Among the mountains is a
lake in whose bosom is a perfect reflection of the dome of the
heavens. The traveler in these regions, standing by the lake,
sees everything above mirrored in the lake. The flight of the
eagle higher than the mountain-tops, as reflected in the lake,
seems to be a descent lower and lower. The higher the flight the
deeper the bird seems to be diving downward. (Text.)
(1460)
* * * * *
On the tomb of Copernicus is a figure of himself standing
with folded hands before a crucifix. In the background are a
globe and compass. Near the left arm is a skull, and under
the right arm, written in Latin: “I crave not the grace which
Paul received, nor the favor with which Thou didst indulge
Peter; that alone which Thou bestowedst upon the thief on the
cross--that alone do I entreat.” (Text.)
(1461)
* * * * *
Emerson points out the necessity of humility to any wholly approvable
character in the following story:
Among the nuns in a convent not far from Rome, one had appeared
who laid claim to certain rare gifts of inspiration and
prophecy, and the abbess advised the holy father at Rome of the
wonderful powers shown by her novice. The Pope did not well know
what to make of these new claims, and St. Philip Neri, a wise
devout man of the Church, coming in from a journey one day, he
consulted him. Philip undertook to visit the nun, and ascertain
her character. He threw himself on his mule, all travel-soiled
as he was, and hastened through the mud and more to the distant
convent. He told the abbess the Pope’s wishes and begged her
to summon the nun. The nun was sent for, and, as soon as she
came into the apartment, Philip stretched out his leg, all
bespattered with mud, and desired her to draw off his boots.
The young nun, who had become the object of much attention and
respect, drew back with anger, and refused the office. Philip
ran out-of-doors, mounted his mule, and returned instantly to
the Pope. “Give yourself no uneasiness, Holy Father, any longer;
here is no miracle, for here is no humility.” (Text.)
(1462)
See MODESTY.