Daily Inspiration Quote by William Law

Humility, in William Law's hands, is less a vibe than an accounting practice. "A right judgment of ourselves" reframes the virtue from public performance (downplaying achievements, speaking softly, acting modest) into disciplined perception. Law, an Anglican clergyman writing in a religious culture obsessed with the moral audit of the soul, aims the line at two familiar evasions: pride dressed up as self-confidence, and self-loathing masquerading as piety. If humility is judgment, then it can be accurate or inaccurate. And most people, Law implies, are not merely vain; they're wrong.

The subtext is pointedly anti-theatrical. Humility is not a social strategy for being liked, not a rhetorical posture, not the charming self-deprecation that still keeps you at the center of attention. It's an internal correction to the ego's favorite distortions: overestimating our virtue, underestimating our dependence, treating gifts as entitlements. In a Christian framework, "right judgment" also hints at a standard outside the self. You don't get to declare yourself humble any more than you get to grade your own exam; the measure comes from God, conscience, community, and the stubborn facts of your behavior.

Context matters: Law was a devotional writer, invested in practices that reorder desire and attention. This definition works because it makes humility actionable. It's not "feel smaller". It's "see accurately". That shift turns a sentimental virtue into an epistemic one: humility becomes the courage to face the truth of who you are, without inflation or collapse.