William Maclay Quotes

I'm just a small guy.

I'm still a small shrimp, not a dragon.

Less than the dust beneath thy chariot wheel, less than the weed that grows beside thy door.

What they do not comprehend is man's helplessness. I am weak, small, of no consequence to the universe. It does not notice me; I live on unseen. But why is that bad? Isn't it that way? Whom the gods notice they destroy. Be small... and you will escape the jealousy of the great.

A moment of something between acceptance and resignation of one's smallness in the world.

I don't want to be all power and muscle.

Honesty is grounded in humility and indeed in humiliation, and in admitting exactly where we are powerless.

I'm not at all a hero. I'm a wussy.

I have no power, and that's what's so humbling.

I'm a fart in a gale of wind, a humble violet under a cow pat.

Let weakness learn meekness.

I don't think I'm invincible.

It is unwise to be too sure of one's own wisdom. It is healthy to be reminded that the strongest might weaken and the wisest might err.

But even the President of the United States sometimes must have to stand naked.

I'm not a God, I make mistakes.

Humility is not a trait I often associate with America.

The feelings of my smallness and my nothingness always kept me good company.

I am only a sparrow amongst a great flock of sparrows.

Anyone who knows me well will tell you that arrogance is one of my flaws.

The word of God teacheth lowliness of mind; it teacheth us to know ourselves.

I am not without faults and I am far short of perfect.

... a modest man. He has every reason to be modest.

… his [Charles Evans Hughes’] greatest fault is his failure to accord credit to anyone for what he may have done. This is a great weakness in any man. I think it was one of the strongest things about [Theodore] Roosevelt. He never tried to minimize what other people did and often exaggerated it..

I used to dislike it, but now I like it more and more, feeling small. I like feeling like a little speck.

I'm not really tough.