"Humility is a virtue all preach, none practice; and yet everybody is content to hear."

John Selden Mathematics See all quotes by John Selden →

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More by John Selden

“Of all actions of a man's life his marriage does least concern other people, yet of all actions of our life 'tis most meddled with by other people.”

“Old friends are best. King James used to call for his old shoes; they were easiest for his feet.”

“The House of Commons is called the Lower House, in twenty Acts of Parliament; but what are twenty Acts of Parliament amongst Friends?”

“Wit and wisdom are born with a man.”

“No man is the wiser for his learning.”

“Philosophy is nothing but discretion.”

Resonant Thoughts

"Wisdom, virtue, morality, all these have fallen out of fashion: everybody worships at the shrine of commerce."

— Charles Fourier

Philosophy1772–1837

#ethics

"Only a ripe fruit falls to the ground. Ripeness is all. An unripe ego cannot be thrown, cannot be destroyed. And if you struggle with an unripe ego to destroy and dissolve it, the whole effort is goin…"

— Rajneesh

Philosophy1931–1990

#ethics

"What distinguished Gentile’s Fascist rationale from that which came to characterize the legitimating rationale of Marxist-Leninism was Gentile’s identification of the nation—rather than the ‘proletari…"

— A. James Gregor

Science1929–2019

#ethics

"You start to know, on stage, when to get off. There's just this feeling that you develop from years and years of doing it; you just feel that "We're getting-- Everyone's really having a good time... a…"

— Jerry Seinfeld

Entertainment1954

#time