Quotes About Greatness

Admiration of great men, living or dead, naturally evokes imitation of them in a greater or less degree.

To be engaged in some small way in the revival of one of the great cities of the world is to live a meaningful existence by default.

Dragomir frowned. You were glorified in song? Of course. My deeds were great. Weren't yours? My deeds were great, and yet no one glorified me in song . Köd alte hän. Darkness curse it, Sandu.

She saw it all. Every dark, dangerous deed. Every dark, ugly kill. Every law he had broken. But most of all she saw his greatness.

But anyone with the time and the inclination can acquire technical proficiency. To achieve greatness, though, that requires artistry. That requires imagination and thoughtfulness...

How does one person with great talents come to exert a force on the world? I think in Farmer's case the answer lies somewhere in the apparent craziness, the sheer impracticality, of half of everything he does, including the hike to Casse.

Kings cannot ennoble thee, thou good, great soul, for One who is higher than kings hath done that for thee; but a king can confirm thy nobility to men.

That man is … odd," I dared say to William. "He is, or has been, in many ways a great man. But for this very reason he is odd. It is only petty men who seem normal. Ubertino

È, o è stato, per molti aspetti, un grande uomo. Ma proprio per questo è strano. Sono solo gli uomini piccoli che sembrano normali.

He is, or has been, in many ways a great man. But for this very reason he is odd. It is only petty men who seem normal.

In the construction of Immortal Fame you need first of all a cosmic shamelessness.

We have nothing. We solace ourselves with the great men of our tribe, the Gandhi and the Nehru, and we castrate ourselves. 'Here, take my manhood and invest it for me. Take my manhood and be a greater man yourself, for my sake!

The nationalism of a small nation can, with treacherous ease, become detached from its roots in what is noble and human. It then become pitiful, making the nation appear smaller rather than greater. It is the same with nations as with individuals; while trying to draw attention to the inadequacies of others, people all too often reveal their own.

Within each individual on this large and complicated world there lives an astounding potential for greatness.

there is no limit to one's ability—certainly not age—to accomplish in life what one must. Within each individual on this large and complicated world there lives an astounding potential of greatness.

In jedem menschlichen Wesen auf dieser weiten, komplizierten Welt ruht eine erstaunliche Anlage zur Größe. Doch nur selten haben diese verborgenen Gaben die Gelegenheit, sich zu entfalten. Manchmal ist es allein der Zufall des Schicksals.

This story told me that there is no limit to one's ability—certainly not age—to accomplish in life what one must. Within each individual on this large and complicated world there lives an astounding potential of greatness. Yet it is rare that these hidden gifts are brought to life unless by the chance of fate.

Jim Collins, author of Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap… And Others Don't

France is great because she is France.

Sire, you are looking at a plain man, and I am looking at a great man. Each of us may benefit.

My greatness does not extend to this shelf.

Wide horizons lead the soul to broad ideas; circumscribed horizons engender narrow ideas; this sometimes condemns great hearts to become small minded. Broad ideas hated by narrow ideas,—this is the very struggle of progress.

Strong and rare natures are thus created; misery, almost always a stepmother, is sometimes a mother; privation gives birth to power of soul and mind; distress is the nurse of self-respect; misfortune is a good breast for great souls.

Sire, said M. Myriel, you are looking at a good man, and I at a great man. Each of us can profit by it.