Goodness does not consist in greatness, but greatness in goodness.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Greatness comes from goodness, not the other way around.
- In plain terms
- Being good makes you great.
- What can you take from it?
- Cultivate virtue to achieve true greatness.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Can greatness exist without goodness?
- How does goodness translate to influence?
Another view
Greatness can also arise from skill alone.
More from Athenaeus
Dorion, ridiculing the description of a tempest in the 'Nautilus' of Timotheus, said that he had seen a more formidable storm in a boiling saucepan.
Permalink to quote #3 Every investigation which is guided by principles of Nature fixes its ultimate aim entirely on gratifying the stomach.
Permalink to quote #2 It was a saying of Demetrius Phalereus, that 'Men having often abandoned what was visible for the sake of what was uncertain, have not got what they expected, …
Permalink to quote #1
Related quotes
The superior man is the providence of the inferior. He is eyes for the blind, strength for the weak, and a shield for the defenseless. He stands erect by bendi…
Robert G. IngersollRobert G. Ingersoll quote #23 La virtud es cosa de veras, todo lo demas de burlas. La capacidad y grandeza se ha de medir por la virtud, no por la fortuna. Ella sola se basta a si misma. Vi…
Baltasar GracianBaltasar Gracian quote #23 He was as great as a man can be without morality.
Alexis de TocquevilleAlexis de Tocqueville quote #39