Humility: A Modern Take on the Ancient Roman Virtue of Modestia

Friday, January 24, 2025. This is also for Garry.

Humility isn’t just a psychological tool for reducing anger—it’s a virtue with ancient roots in Roman culture.

Recent research led by Eddie Harmon-Jones and colleagues, published in Personality and Individual Differences, highlights how humility acts as a buffer against anger and hostility.

This modern finding resonates with the ancient Roman ideal of modestia, a virtue emphasizing self-restraint, self-awareness, and temperance.

In Roman society, modestia was more than personal discipline; it was a cornerstone of community cohesion.

It allowed folks to temper ambition and regulate emotions, ensuring that personal pride didn’t outweigh collective harmony. Today, humility serves a similar function, helping us navigate an increasingly polarized and conflict-prone world.

Modestia and the Emotional Regulation of Anger

The ancient Romans understood the dangers of unchecked anger long before it became a focus of modern psychological research.

Seneca, the Stoic philosopher, explored this in his treatise De Ira (On Anger), where he framed anger as a destructive force that undermines personal character and destabilizes society.

For Seneca, virtues like modestia provided a critical framework for managing emotions, promoting self-awareness, and tempering impulsive reactions.

Harmon-Jones and colleagues’ research validates this ancient perspective.

Across three studies, the researchers demonstrated that humility—much like modestia—reduces anger and fosters more benign interpretations of conflict. Participants high in humility were less likely to assume malicious intent in ambiguous social situations, a finding that aligns with the Roman ideal of emotional restraint.

Study Insights

• Trait Humility and Anger Reduction
  In Studies 1 and 2, participants with higher levels of trait humility reported significantly lower anger and aggression. Using tools like the Aggression Questionnaire and the Brief State Humility Scale, researchers found that humility was linked to reduced hostile attributions and a greater tendency to interpret situations with generosity.

• Cultivating Humility
  Study 3 explored whether humility could be intentionally cultivated through a five-day intervention. Participants in the humility group reflected on gratitude, acknowledged external contributions to their success, and completed altruistic writing tasks. Compared to a control group focused on pride, the humility group showed reduced anger levels by the intervention’s end.

The Cultural Relevance of Humility Today

In a world where social media amplifies outrage and competition dominates cultural narratives, humility may feel antiquated.

Yet, its relevance is undeniable. Just as modestia sought to stabilize Roman society in an era of intense ambition and ferocious Cultural Narcissism, humility today might act as a counterweight to our current Cultural Narcissism.

Consider the practical implications: humility fosters openness, reduces hostility, and encourages collaboration—all essential traits in our increasingly interconnected global culture. It offers a way to bridge divides, whether in personal relationships, workplaces, or political discourse.

Humility vs. Hubris: Lessons from History

The Romans were also keenly aware of hubris, or excessive pride, as a destructive force. In classical tragedies, hubris often led to the protagonist’s downfall, a theme that still resonates in contemporary scandals.

Humility, by contrast, is the antidote to hubris—a way to foster balance, regulate emotions, and build stronger communities.

The Roman emphasis on modestia wasn’t about erasing ambition or confidence but about channeling them constructively.

Similarly, modern humility interventions, like those in Harmon-Jones’ study, show that humility doesn’t diminish self-esteem—it enhances emotional resilience and social harmony.

Reviving Modestia for the Modern Age

The wisdom of modestia remains profoundly relevant.

Cultivating humility through practices like gratitude reflection and acknowledgment of others’ contributions can transform how we handle conflict and anger.

In doing so, we’re not just adopting a modern psychological strategy; we’re reconnecting with an ancient virtue that sustained one of history’s most enduring civilizations.

In embracing humility, we gain not just personal peace but the power to reshape our cultural narrative—one grounded in connection, resilience, and mutual respect.

Be Well, Stay Kind, and Godspeed.

REFERENCES:

Harmon-Jones, E., Xu, M., Szymaniak, K., Denson, T. F., Schmeichel, B. J., & Harmon-Jones, C. (2024). Humility and anger. Personality and Individual Differences, 209, Article 112123. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2023.112123

Seneca. (n.d.). De Ira (On Anger). Retrieved from https://www.loebclassics.com