Bernard de Mandeville Quotes

Modesty is the color of virtue.

Sincerity is not a spontaneous flower nor is modesty either.

You have a good many little gifts and virtues, but there is no need of parading them, for conceit spoils the finest genius. There is not much danger that real talent or goodness will be overlooked long, and the great charm of all power is modesty.

It is safest to be moderately base - to be flexible in shame, and to be always ready for what is generous, good, and just, when anything is to be gained by virtue.

No age, sex, or condition is above or below the absolute necessity of modesty; but without it one is vastly beneath the rank of man.

The most virtuous are those who content themselves with being virtuous without seeking to appear so.

Humility is the foundation of all the other virtues hence, in the soul in which this virtue does not exist there cannot be any other virtue except in mere appearance.

The firm, the enduring, the simple, and the modest are near to virtue.

A superior man is modest in his speech, but exceeds in his actions.

Modesty seldom resides in a breast that is not enriched with nobler virtues.

Humility was considered a great virtue in my family household. No show of complacency or self-satisfaction was ever tolerated. Patting yourself on the back was definitely not encouraged, and pleasure or pride would be punishable by death.

Be good, sweet maid, and let who will be clever.

It well becomes a young man to be modest.

A good youth ought to have a fear of God, to be subject to his parents, to give honor to his elders, to preserve his purity; he ought not to despise humility, but should love forbearance and modesty. All these are an ornament to youthful years.

Humility's a real thing - not just a fine name for laziness.

Evil borders upon good, and vices are confounded with virtues; as the report of good qualities is delightful to a well-disposed mind, so the relation of the contrary should not be offensive.

To be meek, patient, tactful, modest, honorable, brave, is not to be either manly or womanly; it is to be humane.

The more things a man is ashamed of, the more respectable he is.

… vices are sometimes only virtues carried to excess!

I was never able to master the virtue of humility but I was able to master the appearance of humility.

A man who has made no enemies is probably not a very good man.

The word virtue is as useful to self-interest as the vices.

Where there is humility, there is more success, and lasting success.

I try my best to keep my feet on the floor and stay humble and let my ability do the talking.

For me, you have to have some kind of modesty.