On Being Wonderful

Sunday, January 10, 2016 – On Being Wonderful

He knows nothing; and he thinks he knows everything. That points clearly to a political career. ~ George Bernard Shaw, Major Barbara

It is the certainty that they possess the truth that makes men cruel. ~ Anatole France

Arrogance on the part of the meritorious is even more offensive to us than the arrogance of those without merit: for merit itself is offensive. ~ Friedrich Nietzsche

Pretend inferiority and encourage his arrogance. ~ Sun Tzu

The truest characters of ignorance are vanity and pride and arrogance. ~ Samuel Butler

Early in life I had to choose between honest arrogance and hypocritical humility. I chose the former and have seen no reason to change. ~ Frank Lloyd Wright

I feel coming on a strange disease – humility. ~ Frank Lloyd Wright

What the world needs is more geniuses with humility; there are so few of us left. ~ Oscar Levant

If I only had a little humility, I’d be perfect. ~ Ted Turner

Stupidity combined with arrogance and a huge ego will get you a long way. ~ Chris Lowe

Sometimes a neighbor whom we have disliked a lifetime for his arrogance and conceit lets fall a single commonplace remark that shows us another side, another man, really; a man uncertain, and puzzled, and in the dark like ourselves. ~ Willa Cather

No doubt it is true that there is more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner repented than over all the saints who consistently remain holy, and the rare, sudden gentlenesses of arrogant people have infinitely more effect than the continual gentleness of gentle people. Arrogance turned gentle melts the heart. ~ Booth Tarkington, The Magnificent Ambersons

Women have served all these centuries as looking glasses possessing the magic and delicious power of reflecting the figure of man at twice its natural size. ~ Virginia Woolf, A Room of One’s Own

Women scheme when they are weak, they lie out of fear. Men scheme when they are strong, they lie out of arrogance. ~ Julian Barnes, Flaubert’s Parrot

Men know everything – all of them – all the time – no matter how stupid or inexperienced or arrogant or ignorant they are. ~ Andrea Dworkin

Arrogance is in everything I do. It is in my gestures, the harshness of my voice, in the glow of my gaze, in my sinewy, tormented face. ~ Coco Chanel

I am incapable of mediocrity. ~ Serge Gainsbourg

I’m not a snob. Ask anybody. Well, anybody who matters. ~ Simon Le Bon

In some situations, if you say nothing, you are called dull; if you talk, you are thought impertinent and arrogant. It is hard to know what to do in this case. The question seems to be, whether your vanity or your prudence predominates. ~ William Hazlitt

Your arrogance doesn’t cheapen me. ~ Toba Beta

A solid answer to everything is not necessary. Blurry concepts influence one to focus, but postulated clarity influences arrogance. ~ Criss Jami

Arrogance is perhaps the most socially acceptable form of sin in the church today. In this culture of abundance, one of the only ways Satan can keep Christians neutralized is to wrap us up in pride. Conceit slips in like drafts of cold air in the winter. We don’t see it, but outsiders can sense it. ~ David Kinnaman

Self-complacency is pleasure accompanied by the idea of oneself as cause. ~ Baruch Spinoza

The liberty of the individual must be thus far limited; he must not make himself a nuisance to other people. ~ John Stuart Mill

The need to be right is the sign of a vulgar mind. ~ Albert Camus

Timing and arrogance are decisive factors in the successful use of talent. ~ Marya Mannes

To knock a thing down, especially if it is cocked at an arrogant angle, is a deep delight of the blood. ~ George Santayana

When power leads man toward arrogance, poetry reminds him of his limitations. When power narrows the area of man’s concern, poetry reminds him of the richness and diversity of existence. When power corrupts, poetry cleanses. ~ John F. Kennedy

People hate me because I am a multifaceted, talented, wealthy, internationally famous genius. ~ Jerry Lewis

Every morning when I wake up, I experience an exquisite joy – the joy of being Salvador Dalí – and I ask myself in rapture: What wonderful things this Salvador Dalí is going to accomplish today? ~ Salvador Dalí

When I look at myself, I am so beautiful I scream with joy! ~ Maria Montez

One may understand the cosmos, but never the ego; the self is more distant than any star. ~ G. K. Chesterton

I like the moment when I break a man’s ego. ~ Bobby Fischer

The nice thing about egotists is that they don’t talk about other people. ~ Lucille S. Harper

The prime purpose of eloquence is to keep other people from talking. ~ Louis Vermeil

Egotist: a person more interested in himself than in me. ~ Ambrose Bierce

When science discovers the center of the universe, a lot of people will be disappointed to find they are not it. ~ Bernard Baily

Ego is to the true self what a flashlight is to a spotlight. ~ John Bradshaw

Intolerance itself is a form of egoism, and to condemn egoism intolerantly is to share it. ~ George Santayana

It is far more impressive when others discover your good qualities without your help. ~ Judith Martin

History will be kind to me for I intend to write it. ~ Sir Winston Churchill

Do not do unto others as you would that they should do unto you. Their tastes may not be the same. ~ George Bernard Shaw

Egotism is the anesthetic that dulls the pain of stupidity. ~ Frank Leahy

Point me out the happy man and I will point you out either egotism, selfishness, or evil – or else an absolute ignorance. ~ Graham Greene

I should not talk so much about myself if there were anybody else whom I knew as well. ~ Henry David Thoreau

The most common ego identifications have to do with possessions, the work you do, social status and recognition, knowledge and education, physical appearance, special abilities, relationships, person and family history, belief systems, and often also political, nationalistic, racial, religious, and other collective identifications. None of these is you. ~ Eckhart Tolle

Opinions scattered indiscriminately about leave the mark of egotism. ~ William Strunk, Strunk & White in The Elements of Style

Wear your learning like your watch, in a private pocket; and do not pull it out, and strike it, merely to show that you have one. ~ Lord Chesterfield

Basically, I think you need two things to get by in this world: a sense of humor and the ability to laugh when your ego is destroyed. ~ Arlo Guthrie

If you’re working out in front of a mirror and watching your muscles grow, your ego has reached a point where it is now eating itself. That’s why I believe there should be a psychiatrist at every health club, so that when they see you doing this, they will take you away for a little chat. ~ Lewis Black

There’s no ego when you’re a ukulele player. ~ Jake Shimabukuro

Part of me suspects that I’m a loser, and the other part of me thinks I’m God Almighty. ~ John Lennon

We can’t all be stars because someone has to sit on the curb and clap as I go by. ~ Sebastian Horsley, Dandy in the Underworld: An Unauthorized Autobiography