“Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon 'em.”
Malvolio, Act II, scene v.
Variant: Some are born great, others achieve greatness.
Source: Twelfth Night (1601)
Help us to complete the source, original and additional information
William Shakespeare699
English playwright and poet 1564–1616Related quotes
“Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some hire public relations officers.”
Daniel J. Boorstin (1914–2004) American historian
As quoted in Book of Humorous Quotations (1998), by Connie Robertson, p. 29.
“Some are born weird, some achieve it, others have weirdness thrust upon them.”
Dick Francis (1920–2010) English jockey and crime writer
Source: To the Hilt (1996)
“Some men are born sodomites, some achieve sodomy, and some have sodomy thrust upon them…”
Aleister Crowley (1875–1947) poet, mountaineer, occultist
Source: The Scented Garden Of Abdullah The Satirist Of Shiraz
Joseph Heller book Catch-22
Variant: Some men are born mediocre, some men achieve mediocrity, and some men have mediocrity trust upon them.
Source: Catch-22 (1961)
Context: Some men are born mediocre, some men achieve mediocrity, and some men have mediocrity thrust upon them. With Major Major it had been all three.
“Some are born crazy,” Amelia said. “Some achieve craziness. We had craziness thrust upon us.”
Joe Haldeman book Forever Peace
Source: Forever Peace (1997), p. 249
John Tenniel (1820–1914) British illustrator, graphic humourist and political cartoonist
Of his knighthood; p. 18
M. N. Cohen & E. Wakeling, Lewis Carroll and his Illustrators (2003)
“That some achieve great success, is proof to all that others can achieve it as well.”
Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865) 16th President of the United States
