“If thy words are wise, they will not seem so to the foolish: if they are deep the shallow will not appreciate them. Think not highly of thyself, then, when thou art praised by many.”
Source: Aphorisms and Reflections (1901), p. 164
Help us to complete the source, original and additional information
John Lancaster Spalding 202
Catholic bishop 1840–1916Related quotes
Introductio ad prudentiam: Part II (1727)
“So weak thou art, that fools thy power despise;
And yet so strong, thou triumph'st o'er the wise.”
To Love, found in Miss Vanhomrigh's desk after her death, in Swift's handwriting
Introductio ad prudentiam: Part II (1727)
Jane Sinnett, trans 1846 p. 53
The Vocation of Man (1800), Knowledge
1840s, Past and Present (1843)
De visione Dei (On The Vision of God) (1453)
X, 30
Meditations (c. 121–180 AD), Book X
Context: When thou art offended at any man's fault, forthwith turn to thyself and reflect in what manner thou doest error thyself... For by attending to this thou wilt quickly forget thy anger, if this consideration is also added, that the man is compelled; for what else could he do? or, if thou art able, take away from him the compulsion.
“Jove is not one half so merciless
As thou art to thyself.”
Sylphs
Poems (1851), Prometheus
Context: Jove is not one half so merciless
As thou art to thyself. But fare thee well;
Our love is all as stubborn as thy pride,
And swift as firm.
"To Shakespeare"
Poems (1851)
Context: The soul of man is larger than the sky,
Deeper than ocean, or the abysmal dark
Of the unfathomed center. Like that ark,
Which in its sacred hold uplifted high,
O'er the drowned hills, the human family,
And stock reserved of every living kind,
So, in the compass of the single mind,
The seeds and pregnant forms in essence lie,
That make all worlds. Great poet, 'twas thy art
To know thyself, and in thyself to be
Whate'er Love, Hate, Ambition, Destiny,
Or the firm, fatal purpose of the Heart
Can make of Man. Yet thou wert still the same,
Serene of thought, unhurt by thy own flame.