We judge ourselves by what we feel capable of doing, while others judge us by what we
have already done.
—Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, 1849
Whenever I dwell for any length of time on my own shortcomings, they gradually begin to
seem mild, harmless, rather engaging little things, not at all like the staring defects in other
people’s characters.
—Margaret Halsey, 1938
The people who are late are often so much jollier than the people who have to wait for
them.
—E. V. Lucas, 1926
There are two types of people—those who come into a room and say, ‘Well, here I am!’
and those who come in and say, ‘Ah, there you are.’
—Frederick Lewis Collins
11
What the world needs is more geniuses with humility; there are so few of us left.
—Oscar Levant
12
Humility is the solid foundation of all the virtues.
—Confucius, fifth century BC
13
Humility is a virtue all preach, none practice, and yet everybody is content to hear.
—John Selden, 1786
People with humility don’t think less of themselves, they just think of themselves less.
—Ken Blanchard and Norman Vincent Peale, 1996
Humility is a virtue when you have no other.
—Edward Abbey, 1990
Many a man is praised for his reserve and so-called shyness when he is simply too proud to
risk making a fool of himself.
—J. B. Priestley, 1956
***
The man with a plan is king. […] A man without a plan is just a pawn to circumstance.
—Wheeler L. Baker, 1993
11
Some sources attribute this observation to engineer Archie Frederick Collins, who lived at about
the same time, but for me this looks very unlikely.
12
As quoted, without a date, by Gene Perret in 1995.
13
Possibly based on a line from the Hebrew Books of Kings, whose first written version was
already available at Confucius’ time.
82
On Human Attitudes
have already done.
—Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, 1849
Whenever I dwell for any length of time on my own shortcomings, they gradually begin to
seem mild, harmless, rather engaging little things, not at all like the staring defects in other
people’s characters.
—Margaret Halsey, 1938
The people who are late are often so much jollier than the people who have to wait for
them.
—E. V. Lucas, 1926
There are two types of people—those who come into a room and say, ‘Well, here I am!’
and those who come in and say, ‘Ah, there you are.’
—Frederick Lewis Collins
11
What the world needs is more geniuses with humility; there are so few of us left.
—Oscar Levant
12
Humility is the solid foundation of all the virtues.
—Confucius, fifth century BC
13
Humility is a virtue all preach, none practice, and yet everybody is content to hear.
—John Selden, 1786
People with humility don’t think less of themselves, they just think of themselves less.
—Ken Blanchard and Norman Vincent Peale, 1996
Humility is a virtue when you have no other.
—Edward Abbey, 1990
Many a man is praised for his reserve and so-called shyness when he is simply too proud to
risk making a fool of himself.
—J. B. Priestley, 1956
***
The man with a plan is king. […] A man without a plan is just a pawn to circumstance.
—Wheeler L. Baker, 1993
11
Some sources attribute this observation to engineer Archie Frederick Collins, who lived at about
the same time, but for me this looks very unlikely.
12
As quoted, without a date, by Gene Perret in 1995.
13
Possibly based on a line from the Hebrew Books of Kings, whose first written version was
already available at Confucius’ time.
82
On Human Attitudes