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Quotations about Humility



So let us be humble to-night, to-morrow, and throughout this pilgrimage until the very end. ~Charles F. Raymond, "A Desire," Just Be Glad, 1907


Soon will sweet Primrose be a faded crone...
And Phlox upon the morrow lays no claim...
Yet fair calm Nature reckons it no shame
To live in silence and to pass unknown.
~Arthur Upson, "Nature's Calmness," c.1902  [modified —tg]


Meekness and Pride
Are fruits of one tree;
Eat of them both
For mastery:
Take one of Pride—
Of the other, three.
~Karle Wilson Baker, "Meekness and Pride," c.1921


Don't speak of your talents, but make them speak of you. ~Minna Thomas Antrim (1861–1950), Don'ts for Girls, 1902


Be humble if thou wouldst attain to Wisdom. Be humbler still, when Wisdom thou hast mastered. ~Helena P. Blavatsky (1831–1891)


Modesty is not weak. It is strong. It is the hammer of the soul. ~Frank Crane, "The Art of Quietness," Christmas and the Year Round, 1917


There is in some people a quietly unassuming pride that no misfortune can humble, and it goes by the name of humility. ~Robert Brault, rbrault.blogspot.com


Be mindful of humility: the gale that breaks the pine does not bruise the violet. ~Austin O'Malley (1858–1932), Thoughts of a Recluse, 1898


Until I have come humbly, I shall know that I have not come at all. ~Muriel Strode (1875–1964), "Songs of Longing: XIII," At the Roots of Grasses, 1923


A man is never so badly cheated as when he believes too much in himself. ~James Lendall Basford (1845–1915), Sparks from the Philosopher's Stone, 1882


The average man is not half enough of an egotist. If egotism means a terrific interest in one's self, egotism is absolutely essential to efficient living. ~Arnold Bennett (1867–1931)


Mock modesty is vice behind the mask of virtue. ~"Poor Richard Junior's Philosophy," The Saturday Evening Post, 1903, George Horace Lorimer, editor


If we were but conscious of our own utter littleness, we would not dare look with contempt on the smallest atom in the world. ~Charles Lanman, "Musings," 1840


There is much proud humility and humble pride in the world! ~James Lendall Basford (1845–1915), Sparks from the Philosopher's Stone, 1882


Some people are proud of their lack of pride. ~"Poor Richard Junior's Philosophy," The Saturday Evening Post, 1904, George Horace Lorimer, editor


He who praises himself will speedily find a censor. ~Publilius Syrus, 1st century BCE, from the Latin by D. Lyman, 1856


There are two kinds of egotists: Those who admit it, and the rest of us. ~Laurence J. Peter, Peter's Quotations: Ideas For Our Time, 1977


Do not despise the lowest steps in the ascent to greatness. ~Publilius Syrus, 1st century BCE, from the Latin by D. Lyman, 1856


When you strive for the Place
That you feel the World owes,
Looks the World in the Face,
But don't pull the World's Nose!
~Arthur Guiterman, "Of Tact," A Poet's Proverbs, 1924


Brave actions never want a trumpet. ~Proverb


If a man possesses great talents, he need not publish them; they will generally publish themselves. ~James Lendall Basford (1845–1915), Sparks from the Philosopher's Stone, 1882


A boaster and a liar are cousins. ~German proverb


The egotist uses only one I — and that a capital. ~"Poor Richard Junior's Philosophy," The Saturday Evening Post, 1903, George Horace Lorimer, editor


I should certainly not assume that exclusive, monarch-of-all-I-survey air... ~Mabel Barnes-Grundy, The Vacillations of Hazel, 1905


I am telling you all this, my grandchildren, to let you know that you have blue blood in your veins, but you mustn't let yours get too blue. Father says it takes a dash of red blood mixed with blue, like turpentine with paint, to make it go. ~Kate Trimble Sharber (b.1883), The Annals of Ann, 1910


Do not underestimate, in a world of self-confident bluster, the sexiness of being quiet and unassuming and, at times, a little lost. ~Robert Brault, rbrault.blogspot.com, 2018


E is the Egotist Dread
Who, as someone has wittily said,
      Will talk till he's blue
      About Himself when you
Want to talk about Yourself instead.
~Oliver Herford, A Little Book of Bores, 1906


The selfish man looks into the world as he looks into his mirror: only to see himself. ~James Lendall Basford (1845–1915), Sparks from the Philosopher's Stone, 1882


Before you criticize a boastful person, remember — it's hard to be humble when no one is proud of you. ~Robert Brault, rbrault.blogspot.com, 2019


Don't praise Yourself to People who
May know the Folks next door to you.
~Arthur Guiterman, "Of Boasters," A Poet's Proverbs, 1924


The man who halted on third base to congratulate himself failed to make a home run. ~"Poor Richard Junior's Philosophy," The Saturday Evening Post, George Horace Lorimer, editor, as reprinted in Poor Richard Jr's Almanack, 1906


To be willing to be nothing.
To do the work, and erase the workman.
To paint the picture, and remove the palettes and myself.
To build a temple, and be willing to be the bearer of the chalice, the keeper of the vestry, the swayer of the burning myrrh.
To build me a lofty spire to the sky, not in pride but in all humility. It shall touch the heavens, while I, its humble builder, kneel lowly on its stone steps to pray.
~Muriel Strode (1875–1964), "A Soul's Faring: LXXI," A Soul's Faring, 1921


It is always the secure who are humble. ~G.K. Chesterton


It is pleasant to do a favor for him who does not ask it. ~Publilius Syrus, 1st century BCE, from the Latin by D. Lyman, 1856


Few are humble, for it takes a self-esteem few possess. ~Robert Brault, rbrault.blogspot.com


Humble is such a lonely word. ~Kak Sri


It's all pose and self-advertisement... ~Logan Pearsall Smith


Know thyself, still the best antidote to a sense of moral superiority. ~Robert Brault, rbrault.blogspot.com


We come nearest to the great when we are great in humility. ~Rabindranath Tagore


Egotism is overvaluing your little speck of the universe. ~Terri Guillemets


One learns to ignore criticism by first learning to ignore applause. ~Robert Brault, rbrault.blogspot.com


A man may do an immense deal of good, if he does not care who gets the credit for it. ~Father Strickland, 1863  [quoteinvestigator.com]


If every fool wore a crown, we should all be kings. ~Welsh proverb


...he was humbled to the dust by the many ill things he had done... ~Robert Louis Stevenson, Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, 1886


[H]e was like a cock who thought the sun had risen to hear him crow. ~George Eliot, Adam Bede


Flattery is like smoking — it is not dangerous so long as you do not inhale. ~Adlai Stevenson


In phrases like, "quiet courage" and "quiet endurance" and "quiet resolve," we are reminded of how much of any trait we admire in a human being has to do with its quietness. ~Robert Brault, rbrault.blogspot.com





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published 1999 Aug 15
revised 2021 Mar 17
last saved 2025 Jan 19
www.quotegarden.com/humility.html