“Modesty is an old-fashioned virtue, which, given your charms, you must certainly do without.”

— Marquis de Sade, Philosophy in the Bedroom

First Dialogue, Delmonce
Philosophy in the Bedroom (1795)

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update Oct. 1, 2023. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "Modesty is an old-fashioned virtue, which, given your charms, you must certainly do without." by Marquis de Sade?

Marquis de Sade photo

Marquis de Sade30

French novelist and philosopher 1740–1814

Related quotes

“Modesty is the gentle art of enhancing your charm by pretending not to be aware of it.”

Oliver Herford (1863–1935) American writer

Ladies' Home Journal, Volume 72 (1955), p. 156.
Attributed

“He saw her charming, but he saw not half
The charms her downcast modesty conceal'd.”

James Thomson (poet) The Seasons

Source: The Seasons (1726-1730), Autumn (1730), l. 229.

“Dior is like a big adolescent with old- fashioned shyness of as schoolboy and most charming in his childish awkwardness.”

Christian Dior (1905–1957) French fashion designer

Michael Ciry on Dior as a young boy, in p. 20
Christian Dior: The Man who Made the World Look New

“Modesty is a vastly overrated virtue.”

John Kenneth Galbraith (1908–2006) American economist and diplomat

Interview with Lorie Conway (1997) from Interviews with John Kenneth Galbraith (2004) ed. James Ronald Stanfield and Jacqueline Bloom Stanfield. Conway saw these words on a framed needlepoint, entitled "Galbraith's First Law," at Galbraith's home

“I will not be modest. Humble, as much as you like, but not modest. Modesty is the virtue of the lukewarm.”

Jean Paul Sartre book The Devil and the Good Lord

Act 4, sc. 5
The Devil and the Good Lord (1951)

“I do nothing but go about persuading you all, old and young alike, not to take thought for your persons or your properties, but and chiefly to care about the greatest improvement of the soul. I tell you that virtue is not given by money, but that from virtue comes money and every other good of man, public as well as private. This is my teaching, and if this is the doctrine which corrupts the youth, I am a mischievous person.”

Socrates (-470–-399 BC) classical Greek Athenian philosopher

30a–b
Plato, Apology

“As we strive to teach others we must have the humility to acknowledge that we too still have much to learn. And we must have the flexibility to adapt to the changing needs of the world around us. Women who have been taught that modesty and pliancy are among the prized virtues of our gender are marvellously equipped for the learning process. But they must be given the opportunity to turn these often merely passive virtues into positive assets for the society in which they live.”

Aung San Suu Kyi (1945) State Counsellor of Myanmar and Leader of the National League for Democracy

Opening Keynote Address at NGO Forum on Women, Beijing China (1995)

“Modesty is not only an ornament, but also a guard to virtue.”

Joseph Addison (1672–1719) politician, writer and playwright

No. 231 (24 November 1711).
The Spectator (1711–1714)

“…Take this all of you and eat it. This is my body which will be given up for you…
Old words; old rituals. But they still made sound commercial sense.
Talk of Power and Might would always attract an audience. Lords never went out of fashion.”

Clive Barker book Weaveworld

Part Six “Back Among the Blind Men”, Chapter v “Our Lady of the Bones”, Section 2 (p. 273)
Weaveworld (1987), BOOK TWO: THE FUGUE

“Modesty is oftner mistaken than any other Virtue.”

George Savile, 1st Marquess of Halifax (1633–1695) English politician

Political, Moral, and Miscellaneous Reflections (1750), Miscellaneous Thoughts and Reflections

Related topics