Bertrand Russell would not have wished to be called a saint of any description; but he was a great and good man.
Attribution disputed; shown as originally published.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Russell modestly refuses the title of saint, yet acknowledges his own greatness and goodness.
- In plain terms
- He didn't want to be called a saint, but he was a great, good man.
- What can you take from it?
- Humility can coexist with genuine moral excellence.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Why might someone reject a saintly label?
- How does humility affect how we view moral leaders?
Another view
The statement is self‑descriptive and may lack external verification.
More from Bertrand Russell
If a 'religion' is defined to be a system of ideas that contains unprovable statements, then Godel taught us that mathematics is not only a religion, it is the…
Permalink to quote #214 It is difficult to overstate the extent to which Russell's thought dominated twentieth century analytic philosophy: virtually every strand in its development e…
Permalink to quote #216 If forty million people say a foolish thing it does not become a wise one, but the wise man is foolish to give them the lie.
Permalink to quote #213
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