The higher the rank the less pretence, because there is less to pretend to.
Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron LyttonHe who esteems trifles for themselves is a trifler; he who esteems them for the conclusions to be drawn from them, or the advantage to which they can be put, is a philosopher.
Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron LyttonA man's own conscience is his sole tribunal, and he should care no more for that phantom "opinion" than he should fear meeting a ghost if he crossed the churchyard at dark.
Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron LyttonA man is arrogant in proportion to his ignorance. Man's natural tendency is to egotism. Man, in his infancy of knowledge, thinks that all creation was formed for him.
Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton