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Thy modesty's a candle to thy merit.

— Henry Fielding Tom Thumb the Great (1730)

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Source and credibility

Wikiquote does not flag this quote as disputed or misattributed.

Source: Act I, sc. iii
Work: Tom Thumb the Great, 1730
Source quality: Precise citation Points to a specific work with a page, chapter, date or similar locator, so you can look it up.

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Depend on me; never fear your enemies. I'll warrant we make more noise than they.

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Topics

Humility

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It is a trite but true observation, that examples work more forcibly on the mind than precepts.

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Can any man have a higher notion of the rule of right and the eternal fitness of things?

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Guilt has very quick ears to an accusation.

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When widows exclaim loudly against second marriages, I would always lay a wager that the man, if not the wedding day, is absolutely fixed on.

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In reality, the world have payed too great a compliment to critics, and have imagined them men of much greater profundity than they really are.

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Be wise;
Soar not too high, to fall; but stoop to rise.

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Those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.

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At very best, a person wrapped up in himself makes a small package.

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Modesty is an unnatural attitude, and one which is only with difficulty taught to children.

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Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Henry Fielding (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.