DOCILITY. — Etymologically (from *docere*, "to teach") it signifies the good disposition to embrace the right opinion of another. St. Thomas describes it thus, listing it among the parts of prudence and adding: "Prudence has as its object all the operations, even particular ones, of man; and since these are of almost limitless variety, man cannot sufficiently weigh the pros and cons of each single action within a limited time; for which reason it is necessary that he allow himself to be instructed by others, wiser than himself. In this precisely consists docility" (*Sum. Theol.*, 2a-2ae, q. 49, a. 3).
Commonly, however, the term "docile" has a narrower and more specific meaning, indicating one who readily yields to the advice or will of others. Even in ascetical literature, this term is often confused with meekness, patience, or obedience. Docility, however, is a vaguer, less precise word than these. It could indeed signify the same attitude of yielding even to what is evil, which is excluded when speaking of those Christian virtues. A more equivalent term would rather be pliability. Ascetical treatises discuss it in connection with obedience, not prudence, as does the Angelic Doctor.
For the acquisition of the Christian virtue of docility, spiritual masters prescribe many and varied rules, the principal of which might be considered: the constant and daily effort to renounce one's own will in order to submit it to that of God; not to trust one's own judgment in matters of greatest importance to one's soul; the habit of viewing human things and events from a supernatural perspective; the guidance of a prudent and wise man. Even in this sphere, docility in fulfilling the smallest duties will dispose the will to the exact observance of those that are more burdensome. Even from a natural standpoint, docility is a virtue of the highest importance. It makes obedience less burdensome, social intercourse more serene, the weight of one's duty more bearable, life more beautiful, relationships between the various social classes less strained, and disorders and upheavals in civil society rarer.
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