If one were to discuss their own humble nature, does that defeat the very intent of humility? Can skirting the line of self-deprecation and confidence lead to unintended, negative consequences? In brief, Argalus in the Sir Phillip Sidney’s The Countess of Pembroke’s Arcadia is left to contemplate that very question. The fate of the characters clearly laid in Sidney’s mind, however, the development of Argalus as a character may have been markedly different because of an unwillingness to see his true worth to Parthenia.
From a Biblical sense, the answer is clear as demonstrated in verses such as Luke 14:11 – “For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.” The Bible rewards humility in the face of the Lord as Man is waging a perpetual war against original sin to seek redemption in the eyes of God. To boil it down to a bumper-sticker motif – “I am second”. If someone is willing to see God as the image of perfection and Jesus Christ as the purest example of the human form, they will be lifted. St. Gregory of Sinai posits that true humility comes through action rather than words. “…true humility does not say humble words, nor does it assume humble looks, it does force one either to think humbly of oneself, or to abuse oneself in self-belittlement.” (Philokalia, 62) St. Gregory examines the positive traits of a humble demeanor, in giving oneself fully to God’s words but meanwhile forcing oneself to wallow in self-pity and possess an inward view of contempt – a direct contradiction to not allowing oneself to be lost in self-belittlement. For St. Gregory to see humility as an admission that man has sunk below his nature would suggest that there could be a worse act in the eyes of God that original sin. Perhaps therein lies the negative consequence of humility. If one believes themselves to be in worse standing in God’s eyes than Adam and Eye, there is a continual struggle to repent and little space for confidence to grow.
Argalus confronts this buzz-saw in his pursuit of Parthenia in Sidney’s The Countess of Penbroke’s Arcadia, with a singular focus on loyalty to his hopeful paramour leading to at best, a deadly duel, and at worst, despair, rage and general weariness of his quest (92). Argalus plays the archetypal chivalrous and subservient knight well but that trait leads to him nearly failing altogether. Argalus does not view himself as worthy of another after the presumed death of Parthenia, only breaking his humble nature when, in a miraculous scene, Parthenia appears before him and convinces him to marry.
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