Saying of the Desert Christians: Abba Isidore 4

from: http://orthodoxwiki.org/Sayings_of_the_Desert_Fathers#Abba_Isidore

He also said, 'The heights of humility are great and so are the depths of boasting; I advise you to attend to the first and not to fall into the second.'

Some thoughts:

I recently read a novel set in the 14th century, A Vision of Light, about a young woman who had visions and sought to write a book of her experiences. For this she hires a monk to take down her dictation. Br. Gregory is constantly thinking about how far he has come in "his Humility". The thing is, of course, is that while he is a likable fellow, humble he is not.

It is funny how many subtle ways there are to boast. We can even boast without appearing to boast. We all probably want to make a good impression on others and so there are little things we can do to make sure we are noticed, that call attention to ourselves. Somehow we have to let all that go.