False Modesty Quotes

• A vain man finds it wise to speak good or ill of himself; a modest man does not talk of himself.

  Jean de la Bruyere

  Wise, Men, Doe

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• False modesty is the most decent of all lies.

  Nicolas Chamfort

  Lying, Hypocrisy, Modesty

  "Chamfort maxims: anecdotes, personalities, letters, historical writings, etc".

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• False modesty is the masterpiece of vanity: showing the vain man in such an illusory light that he appears in the reputation of the virtue quite opposite to the vice which constitutes his real character; it is a deceit.

  Jean de la Bruyere

  Real, Character, Men

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• We must not confuse humility with false modesty or servility.

  Paulo Coelho

  Humility, Modesty, Honest

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• False modesty can be worse than arrogance.

  David Mitchell

  Arrogance, Modesty

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• I definitely was always expected and encouraged to be a songwriter from a very young age, ... But really it's because, as a child, I thought I was Judy Garland. And when I started out, I was a little nuts. I thought I was a classic, legendary superstar when only 10 people knew who I was. I feel in some ways that my confidence is misinterpreted as arrogance, which is understandable. But I've also always thought that false modesty is evil.

  Rufus Wainwright

  Children, Nuts, Evil

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• One who has an inferiority complex can never be really humble, but can only have false modesty or false humility.

  Sri Chinmoy

  Humble, Humility, Inferiority

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• True humility is more like self-forgetfulness than false modesty.

  C. S. Lewis

  Christian, Humility, Self

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• Sex is as important as eating or drinking and we ought to allow the one appetite to be satisfied with as little restraint or false modesty as the other.

  Marquis de Sade

  Love, Life, Sex

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• False modesty is an attempt to tear yourself down. True humility focuses more on build up others.

  Tony Dungy

  Humility, Tears, Modesty

  Tony Dungy, Nathan Whitaker (2011). “The One Year Uncommon Life Daily Challenge”, p.693, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.

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• To the devil with false modesty.

  Stephen King

  Devil, Modesty

  Stephen King (2008). “Carrie”, p.89, Anchor

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• False modesty is the refinement of vanity. It is a lie.

  Jean de la Bruyere

  Lying, Vanity, Modesty

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• False modesty is better than none.

  Vilhjalmur Stefansson

  Modesty

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• The thing I hate most is false modesty. The artists who are, like, "Oh, you know, I'm really not that good. Oh, I can't believe I'm here." I find it vaguely sinister, even.

  Rufus Wainwright

  Hate, Believe, Artist

  "Rufus and Martha Wainwright on Family Memories, Jealousy, and Fame". Interview with Miranda Siegel, www.vulture.com. February 19, 2013.

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• I think in the world of indie music there's this sort of false modesty.

  Alex Kapranos

  Thinking, World, Modesty

  Biography/Personal Quotes, www.imdb.com.

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• There is a false modesty, which is vanity; a false glory, which is levity; a false grandeur, which is meanness; a false virtue, which is hypocrisy, and a false wisdom, which is prudery.

  Jean de la Bruyere

  Vanity, Hypocrisy, Modesty

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• The thunder of false modesty was deafening.

  Sebastian Faulks

  Modesty, Thunder

  Sebastian Faulks (2007). “Engleby: A Novel”, Doubleday Books

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• A false modesty is the meanest species of pride.

  Edward Gibbon

  Pride, Modesty, Species

  Edward Gibbon, John Baker Holroyd (1827). “Memoires of the Life and Writings of Edward Gibbon, Esq”, p.85

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• It isn't false modesty when I say this, but although I am supposed to be a famous person it doesn't mean anything to me. I just sit at home and work.

  Gyorgy Ligeti

  Home, Mean, Modesty

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• I have huge legs, and I never show them - not because of false modesty, I'm just not comfortable.

  Cheyenne Jackson

  Legs, Modesty, Shows

  Interview With Karman Kregloe, www.newnownext.com. July 8, 2007.

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• I go to therapy once a week, that helps a lot. I have a really supportive family. I have two little kids, I'm married, I live close to my parents, my brother and his wife. I don't socialize a lot. I work and I have my kids, basically. I'm just, I would say, with all false modesty aside, I'm ruthlessly efficient with my time.

  Mark Duplass

  Brother, Kids, Two

  Source: collider.com

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• There are twenty-four characters in this book named Max. Let there be an end to this silly business of authors never giving their own names to characters in their novels. False modesty, faugh!

  Max Shulman

  Silly, Book, Character

  Max Shulman (2016). “The Zebra Derby: A Novel”, p.8, Open Road Media

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• Fidelity to conscience is inconsistent with retiring modesty. If it be so, let the modesty succumb. It can be only a false modesty which can be thus endangered.

  Harriet Martineau

  Literature, Modesty, Fidelity

  Harriet Martineau (1837). “Society in America”, p.112

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• Don't allow false modesty,doubts or unbelief prevent you from accepting God's favor. The door of mercy stands wide open.

  Aiden Wilson Tozer

  God, Christian, Religious

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• True modesty avoids everything that is criminal; false modesty everything that is unfashionable.

  Joseph Addison

  Criminals, Modesty

  Joseph Addison, Sir Richard Steele (1854). “The Spectator: With a Biographical and Critical Preface, and Explanatory Notes ...”, p.406

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