Greatness quotes

Greatness

1.9K quotes on this topic — from poets, philosophers, and thinkers across history.

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Greatness quotes (page 35 of 94)

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T. S. Eliot Poet, Playwright
Greatness

"Should I, after tea and cakes and ices, Have the strength to force the moment to its crisis? But though I have wept and fasted, wept and prayed, Though I have seen my head (grown slightly bald) brought in upon a platter, I am no prophet--and here's no great matter; I have seen the moment of my greatness flicker, I have seen the eternal Footman hold my coat, and snicker, And in short, I was afraid."

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T. S. Eliot Poet, Playwright
Greatness

"The greatness of literature cannot be determined solely by literary standards though we must remember that whether it is literature or not can be determined only by literary standards."

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Ralph Waldo Emerson Essayist, Philosopher, Poet
Greatness

"Men seek to be great; they would have offices, wealth, power, and fame. They think that to be great is to possess one side of nature,--the sweet, without the other side,--the bitter."

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Ralph Waldo Emerson Essayist, Philosopher, Poet
Greatness

"I count him a great man who inhabits a higher sphere of thought, into which other men rise with labor and difficulty; he has but to open his eyes to see things in a true light, and in large relations; whilst they must make painful corrections, and keep a vigilant eye on many sources of error."

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Ralph Waldo Emerson Essayist, Philosopher, Poet
Greatness

"The affirmative class monopolize the homage of mankind. They originate and execute all the great feats. What a force was coiled upin the skull of Napoleon!"

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Ralph Waldo Emerson Essayist, Philosopher, Poet
Greatness

"In private places, among sordid objects, an act of truth or heroism seems at once to draw to itself the sky as its temple, the sun as its cradle. Nature stretches out her arms to embrace man, only let his thoughts be of equal greatness."

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Ralph Waldo Emerson Essayist, Philosopher, Poet
Greatness

"Jesus Christ belonged to the true race of the prophets. He saw with an open eye the mystery of the soul. . Alone in all history he estimated the greatness of man."

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Samuel Johnson Lexicographer, Essayist, Critic
Greatness

"The business of the biographer is often to pass slightly over those performances and incidents which produce vulgar greatness, to lead the thoughts into domestic privacies, and display the minute details of daily life, were exterior appendages are cast aside, and men excel each other only by prudence and virtue."

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Samuel Johnson Lexicographer, Essayist, Critic
Greatness

"That eminence of learning is not to be gained without labour, at least equal to that which any other kind of greatness can require, will be allowed by those who wish to elevate the character of a scholar; since they cannot but know that every human acquisition is valuable in proportion to the difficulty of its attainment."

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