Luc de Clapiers Quotes

The individuals who seem to us most outstanding, who are honored with the name of genius, are those who have proposed to enact the fate of all humanity in their personal existences.

Only great men have great faults.

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

A virtue to be serviceable must, like gold, be alloyed with some commoner, but more durable alloy.

It is the sign of a great mind to dislike greatness, and to prefer things in measure to things in excess.

Turning one's back on stardom might be the highest form of common sense. One that I would aspire to be more complete with.

Great men or men of great gifts you shall easily find, but symmetrical men never.

Happy the man when he has not the defects of his qualities.

In life we shall find many men that are great, and some that are good, but very few men that are both great and good.

As a person, I am still grounded and humble.

I just try to make sure, in everything I do, I do what I'm supposed to be doing in a confident and a humble way at the same time. It's been working for me.

If you want to be loved, keep your head on your shoulders and feet on the ground. There is nothing wrong in that. I do the same, and others should also follow this motto.

So many things--nay every real thing--is good if only it will be humble and ordinate.

Be not too tame neither, but let your own Discretion be your tutor; suit the action to the word, the word to the action.

If I am seen as successful, it's all the more reason not to change - not to lose track of friends, not to be driven everywhere, not to go and get away from the world. That, to me, is real success: enjoying what you do, but being the same person.

One of the interesting things is, the most gifted people, the biggest people, have no problem taking small roles.

The sage avoids extremity, excess, and extravagance.

In success be moderate. Humility makes great men twice honourable.

There are big men, men of intellect, intellectual men, men of talent and men of action; but the great man is difficult to find, and it needs --apart from discernment --a certain greatness to find him.

Be not unwilling in what thou doest, neither selfish nor unadvised nor obstinate; let not over-refinement deck out thy thought; be not wordy nor a busybody.

Both Self-restraint and Unrestraint are a matter of extremes as compared with the character of the mass of mankind; the restrained man shows more and the unrestrained man less steadfastness than most men are capable of.

A man must thank his defects, and stand in some terror of his talents.

I was intent on doing something productive and on being everything my parents taught me to be. Their values were clear: do good work; don't ever get too big for your breeches; always be an authentic person; don't worry too much about being famous and rich because that doesn't amount to too much.