Humility: The Secret History of a Lost Virtue

This cultural history of humility reveals this lost virtue as a secret defense against arrogance and incivility

History demonstrates that when the virtue of humility is cast aside, excessive individualism follows. A person who lacks humility is at risk of developing a deceptive sense of certitude and at worst denies basic human rights, respect, and dignity to anyone they identify as the enemy.

Humility, a cultural history and biography of the idea of humility, argues that the frightening alternative to humility has been the death of civility. In this book, Bellitto explores humility in Greco-Roman history, philosophy, and literature; in the ancient and medieval Jewish, Christian, and Muslim scriptures and sermons; in the Enlightenment; and in contemporary discussions of education in virtue and citizenship. The author encourages readers to recover and reclaim this lost virtue by developing a new perspective on humility as an alternative to the diseases of hubris, arrogance, and narcissism in society.

This book offers a fresh perspective on this lost virtue for readers interested in finding a path to renewed civility.

© 2023 Georgetown University Press (Ebook): 9781647123772

Release date

Ebook: 1 September 2023