“In this country all a man need to do is to attain a little eminence and immediately he begins to talk.”
New York Times interview (1911)
Context: In this country all a man need to do is to attain a little eminence and immediately he begins to talk. … But the American people are willing to listen to any one who has attained prominence. The main fact is that we've heard a man's name a great many times; that makes us ready to accept whatever he says.
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Charles Proteus Steinmetz7
Mathematician and electrical engineer 1865–1923Related quotes
“A man doesn't begin to attain wisdom until he recognizes that he is no longer indispensable.”
Richard Evelyn Byrd (1888–1957) Medal of Honor recipient and United States Navy officer
Source: Alone (1938), Ch. 12, last lines of the book.
“The moment a man talks to his fellows he begins to lie.”
Hilaire Belloc (1870–1953) writer
The Silence of the Sea (1940)
Thomas Brooks (1608–1680) English Puritan
Quotes from secondary sources, Smooth Stones Taken From Ancient Brooks, 1860
Epifanio de los Santos (1871–1928) Filipino politician
Resil B. Mojares in Brains of the Nation: Pedro Paterno, T. H. Pado de Tavera, Isabelo de los Reyes. 2006. p. 477.
BALIW
“If you are one of the truly elect,
be careful how you attain your eminence.”
Constantine P. Cavafy (1863–1933) Greek poet
Theodotos http://www.cavafy.com/poems/content.asp?id=105&cat=1 <br class="br">Collected Poems (1992)
Sylvia Plath book The Bell Jar
Variant: The same thing happened over and over: I would catch sight of some flawless man in the distance, but as soon as he moved closer I immediately saw he wouldn’t do at all.
Source: The Bell Jar