"Now, these three best gifts — Dignity, Wisdom and Virtue — have each a twofold character. There is no glory in having a gift without knowing it. But to know only that you have it, without knowing that it is not of yourself that you have it, means self-glorying, but no true glory in God."
— Bernard of Clairvaux (1090–1153) · Abbot of Clairvaux✦ The Dangerous Middle
Bernard builds the logic step by step:
Dignity without wisdom — having a gift without knowing it. Nothing worth. A treasure buried in a field the owner never digs.
Wisdom without virtue — knowing you have the gift but forgetting the Giver. Harmful. Self-glorying. The dangerous middle where the soul admires its own reflection instead of looking through the glass to the Source.
All three together — dignity known, wisdom received, virtue seeking the Giver. True glory. The solid foundation of truth.
"And so the apostle says, 'What hast thou that thou didst not receive? Now, if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory as if thou hadst not received it?' (1 Corinthians 4:7). He asks, Why dost thou glory? but goes on, as if thou hadst not received it, showing that the guilt is not in glorying over a possession, but in glorying as though it had not been received."
— Bernard of Clairvaux (1090–1153)"The guilt is not in glorying over a possession, but in glorying as though it had not been received."
— Bernard of Clairvaux · Pride is not confidence. It is amnesia. It forgets the Source.✦ Everything Received
The guilt is not in recognizing the gift. The gift is real — recognizing it is right. The guilt is in forgetting the receiving. Everything you have was given. The moment you forget the giving, the glory becomes vain — empty, without foundation, a building with no ground under it.
Bowen said on July 24: pride grows in the atmosphere of falsehood. Bernard says: vain-glory has not the solid foundation of truth. The same diagnosis. Pride is not confidence — it is amnesia. It forgets the Source.
"And rightly such glorying is called vain-glory, since it has not the solid foundation of truth. The apostle shows how to discern the true glory from the false, when he says, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord, that is, in the Truth, since our Lord is Truth (1 Corinthians 1:31; John 14:6)."
— Bernard of Clairvaux (1090–1153)✦ The Solid Foundation
True glory and false glory. The difference is one word: received. True glory says: I have this gift, and it was given. False glory says: I have this gift, and it is mine. The first stands on truth. The second stands on air.
And Bernard closes the circle: glory in the Lord, that is, in the Truth, since our Lord is Truth. Christ is not only the way and the life — He is the Truth. The solid foundation. The ground under the building. To glory in Him is to glory in reality itself.
The Dangerous Middle
Wisdom without virtue is harmful. Knowing the gift without knowing the Giver. The soul admiring its own reflection instead of the Source.
Everything Received
What do you have that you did not receive? The guilt is not in having. The guilt is in forgetting the giving. Pride is amnesia.
The Solid Foundation
Vain-glory has no foundation of truth. True glory glories in the Lord — in the Truth — since our Lord is Truth.