But having decayed, a degradated humility, an humility become deteriorated transforms itself into an external compulsively imposed system of life, negating the freedom of man, coercing man. In soil humility readily sprouts forth hypocrisy and sanctimoniousness. At that selfsame moment when the ontological concept of humility would consist in the liberation of spiritual man, a deteriorated humility holds man in a condition of restraint and oppression, it chains down his creative powers.

The degenerated humility creates a system of life, in which life that is everyday and commonplace and of bourgeois-manner, is more honoured than the humble, than the Christian, than the moral, than the attainment of a still higher spiritual life, and love, contemplation, perception, creativity, always there is the suspicion of a deficiency of humility and of pride. To haggle at the shop-counter, to live in a very egoistic familial life, to serve in the ranks of the police or excise-duty office — humbly, not presumptuously, not boldly. And here then otherwise is the aspiration towards the Christian brotherhood of people, of the realisation of the truth of Christ in life, or to be philosopher or poet, Christian philosopher or Christian poet — not humbly, proudly, presumptuously, boldly.

Deteriorative humility desires however a system of life, in which liberation never enters, in which spiritual ascent is never to be attained, in which the higher nature never shews itself. The liberation of spirit, spiritual ascent, the manifestation of the higher nature would be declared a non-humble condition, a deficiency of humility. Humility is transformed from being a means and a way into an end in itself.

… it is completely possible to say likewise: the way of humility is distorted and perverted by human sin and greed and is a distorted, degenerate, perverted humility, an humility, transformed into slavery, into egoism, into cowardice. Humility is no more a guarantee from distortion, and degeneration, than love or cognition.