"Compare not thyself with those that have less than thyself, but look on those that have far exceeded thee"
About this Quote
Gurnall is picking a fight with the easiest kind of self-esteem: the cheap confidence you get from looking down. In one brisk command, he rewires comparison away from comfort and toward conviction. The line isn’t anti-ambition, and it isn’t an early-modern LinkedIn hustle slogan, either. It’s a Puritan diagnostic tool: if your spiritual life (or moral seriousness) is measured against the worst examples around you, you’ll always find a way to feel fine. The instruction is designed to ruin that refuge.
The phrasing matters. “Compare not thyself” is an imperative that treats self-comparison as a habit that must be disciplined, not a natural instinct to indulge. Then “those that have less” is deliberately vague: less virtue, less knowledge, less devotion, less integrity. Gurnall refuses to specify because the mechanism is the point; whatever category flatters you will do the damage. “Far exceeded thee” raises the stakes: he’s not asking you to glance at someone slightly ahead, but to confront exemplary lives that expose your complacency.
Context sharpens the edge. Writing in a century of English religious conflict and intense devotional culture, Gurnall’s audience was trained to read daily life as a moral ledger. His intent isn’t to spark envy; it’s to provoke repentance and growth. Subtext: humility is not a mood, it’s a method. Stop auditioning for superiority and start submitting to a standard that actually costs you something.
The phrasing matters. “Compare not thyself” is an imperative that treats self-comparison as a habit that must be disciplined, not a natural instinct to indulge. Then “those that have less” is deliberately vague: less virtue, less knowledge, less devotion, less integrity. Gurnall refuses to specify because the mechanism is the point; whatever category flatters you will do the damage. “Far exceeded thee” raises the stakes: he’s not asking you to glance at someone slightly ahead, but to confront exemplary lives that expose your complacency.
Context sharpens the edge. Writing in a century of English religious conflict and intense devotional culture, Gurnall’s audience was trained to read daily life as a moral ledger. His intent isn’t to spark envy; it’s to provoke repentance and growth. Subtext: humility is not a mood, it’s a method. Stop auditioning for superiority and start submitting to a standard that actually costs you something.
Quote Details
| Topic | Self-Improvement |
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