Pride

One cares so little for the style in which one’s praises are written.

The applause of a single human being is of a great consequence.

What every genuine philosopher (every genuine man, in fact) craves most is praise— although the philosophers generally call it “recognition.”

the one that inspires all his deeds and designs, he would say, “I want to be praised.”

Money is a protection, a cloak; it can buy one quiet, and some sort of dignity.

Measure your mind’s height by the shade it casts.

Ambition is not a vice of little people.

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

Humility is often only a feigned submissiveness by which men hope to bring other people to submit to them; it is a more calculated sort of pride.

Humility is the most difficult of all virtues to achieve; nothing dies harder than the desire to think well of oneself.

There are no perfectly honorable men; but every true man has one main point of honor and a few minor ones.

A fine coat is a livery, when the person who wears it discovers no higher sense than that of a footman.

Have no friends not equal to yourself.

He who boasts of his ancestry is praising the deeds of another.

Nothing is more simple than greatness; indeed, to be simple is to be great.

We are all motivated by a keen desire for praise, and the better a man is, the more he is inspired to glory.

A man can get a reputation from very small things.

He who pursues fame at the risk of losing his self is not a scholar.

Not what I have, but what I do is my kingdom.

The nearest way to glory is to strive to be what you wish to be thought to be.

Hide not your talents. They for use were made. What's a sundial in the shade?

I do not believe Mme. Curie is power-hungry or hungry for whatever. She is an unpretentious, honest person with more than her share of responsibilities and burdens. She has a sparkling intelligence, but despite her passionate nature she is not attractive enough to present a danger to anyone.

Autobiographies mostly arise out of narcissism or negative feelings toward others. Biographies from the pen of another person tend in their psychological traits to reflect the intellectual and spiritual nature of the writer more than that of the person portrayed.

It strikes me as unfair, and even in bad taste, to select a few individuals for boundless admiration, attributing superhuman powers of mind and character to them. This has been my fate, and the contrast between the popular assessment of my powers and achievements and the reality is simply grotesque.