Also of charity He saith thus: This is My commandment, that ye love one another as I loved you, for by that men shall know you for My disciples. Not that you work miracles, or cast out devils, or preach, or teach, but that each one of you love one another in charity. If therefore thou wilt be like Him, have humility and charity, Now thou knowest what charity is, namely, To love thy neighbour as thyself. (John Climacus)

Humility is a precondition of love.

In humility we come to know our selves. In knowing our selves we can better empathize with others.

Through empathy - feeling the passion of an other - we recognize what we share with another: good, bad, better, and worse.

Empathy alone is not love, but feeling the passion of an other is not far from feeling passion for another.

In humility such passion seeks to serve the other, not the self.