Henry Taylor on popularity and humility

Taylor (Statesman, Chapter 7) seems to achieve a synthesis of classical and Christian concepts of humility.

Popularity . . . . is most commonly obtained by an abuse of humility . . . . I say an abuse of humility, because humility well used consists in a constant reference to a high standard and a prostration of pride and self-love before that standard, whether it be merely ideal, or whether we see it embodied in men of virtue and understanding superior to our own: and it does not consist in any undue and untrue self-depreciation, leading a man to postpone himself to what is worse than himself, and thereby to desert his moral station . . . . CONTINUE