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Humility is a virtue all preach, none practise, and yet every body is content to hear.

— John Selden Table Talk: Being the Discourses (1786)

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Humility

More quotes by John Selden

Wise men say nothing in dangerous times.

Table Talk (1689)

Take a straw and throw it up into the air — you may see by that which way the wind is.

Table Talk (1689)

A king is a thing men have made for their own sakes, for quietness' sake. Just as in a family one man is appointed to buy the meat.

Table Talk (1689)

Few men make themselves masters of the things they write or speak.

Table Talk (1689)

Thou little thinkest what a little foolery governs the world.

Table Talk (1689)

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

Philip Massinger Duke of Milan (1623)

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

Jesus

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

Harry Emerson Fosdick On Being a Real Person (1943)

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

Isaac Asimov The Early Asimov Book Two (1972)

Attribution

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