Quote Finder: From Shakespeare to Modern Thinkers, We've Got You Covered!

But still remember, if you mean to please, To press your point with modesty and ease.

William Cowper
English poet and hymnodist (1731–1800)

William Cowper was an English poet and hymnwriter. One of the most popular poets of his time, Cowper changed the direction of 18th-century nature poetry by writing of everyday life and scenes of the English countryside. In many ways, he was one of the forerunners of Romantic poetry. Samuel Taylor Coleridge called him "the best modern poet", whilst William Wordsworth particularly admired his poem Yardley-Oak.
Reference: Wikipedia

Nothing can atone for the lack of modesty without which beauty is ungraceful and wit detestable.

Richard Steele
British playwright and politician (1672-1729)

Sir Richard Steele was an Irish writer, playwright, and politician, remembered as co-founder, with his friend Joseph Addison, of the magazine The Spectator.
Reference: Wikipedia

The basic Female body comes with the following accessories: garter belt, panti-girdle, crinoline, camisole, bustle, brassiere, stomacher, chemise, virgin zone, spike heels, nose ring, veil, kid gloves, fishnet stockings, fichu, bandeau, Merry Widow, weepers, chokers, barrettes, bangles, beads, lorgnette, feather boa, basic black, compact, Lycra stretch one-piece with modesty panel, designer peignoir, flannel nightie, lace teddy, bed, head.

Margaret Atwood
Canadian poet, novelist, literary critic, essayist, teacher, environmental activist, and inventor

Margaret Eleanor Atwood is a Canadian poet, novelist, literary critic, essayist, teacher, environmental activist, and inventor. Since 1961, she has published 18 books of poetry, 18 novels, 11 books of non-fiction, nine collections of short fiction, eight children's books, and two graphic novels, and a number of small press editions of both poetry and fiction. Atwood has won numerous awards and honors for her writing, including two Booker Prizes, the Arthur C. Clarke Award, the Governor General's Award, the Franz Kafka Prize, Princess of Asturias Awards, and the National Book Critics and PEN Center USA Lifetime Achievement Awards. A number of her works have been adapted for film and television.
Reference: Wikipedia

A just and reasonable modesty does not only recommend eloquence, but sets off every great talent which a man can be possessed of.

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

Joseph Addison was an English essayist, poet, playwright and politician. He was the eldest son of The Reverend Lancelot Addison. His name is usually remembered alongside that of his long-standing friend Richard Steele, with whom he founded The Spectator magazine. His simple prose style marked the end of the mannerisms and conventional classical images of the 17th century.
Reference: Wikipedia

Courage and modesty are the most unequivocal of virtues, for they are of a kind that hypocrisy cannot imitate; they too have this quality in common, that they are expressed by the same color.

Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe
German writer, artist, natural scientist and politician (1749–1832)

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism as well as treatises on botany, anatomy, and colour. He is widely regarded as the greatest and most influential writer in the German language, his work having a profound and wide-ranging influence on Western literary, political and philosophical thought from the late 18th century to the present day.
Reference: Wikipedia

Learning gives us a fuller conviction of the imperfections of our nature which one would think, might dispose us to modesty.

Jeremy Collier
English theatre critic, non-juror bishop and theologian

Jeremy Collier was an English theatre critic, non-juror bishop and theologian.
Reference: Wikipedia

Although modesty is natural to man, it is not natural to children. Modesty only begins with the knowledge of evil.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Genevan philosopher, writer and composer (1712–1778)

Jean-Jacques Rousseau was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment throughout Europe, as well as aspects of the French Revolution and the development of modern political, economic, and educational thought.
Reference: Wikipedia

At least I have the modesty to admit that lack of modesty is one of my failings.

Hector Berlioz
French composer and conductor (1803–1869)

Louis-Hector Berlioz was a French Romantic composer and conductor. His output includes orchestral works such as the Symphonie fantastique and Harold in Italy, choral pieces including the Requiem and L'Enfance du Christ, his three operas Benvenuto Cellini, Les Troyens and Béatrice et Bénédict, and works of hybrid genres such as the "dramatic symphony" Roméo et Juliette and the "dramatic legend" La Damnation de Faust.
Reference: Wikipedia

I have often wished I had time to cultivate modesty ... But I am too busy thinking about myself.

Dame Edith Sitwell
British poet (1887-1964)

Dame Edith Louisa Sitwell was a British poet and critic and the eldest of the three literary Sitwells. She reacted badly to her eccentric, unloving parents and lived much of her life with her governess. She never married but became passionately attached to Russian painter Pavel Tchelitchew, and her home was always open to London's poetic circle, to whom she was generous and helpful.
Reference: Wikipedia

He who speaks without modesty will find it difficult to make his words good.

Confucius

Confucius was a Chinese philosopher and politician of the Spring and Autumn period who is traditionally considered the paragon of Chinese sages. Confucius's teachings and philosophy underpin East Asian culture and society, remaining influential across China and East Asia to this day.
Reference: Wikipedia