I may be wrong, but it seems rare in our age to find a widely praised person whose own mouth is not the source of that praise.
Giacomo LeopardiThat is why all great men are modest: they consistently measure themselves not in comparison to other people but to the idea of perfection ever present in their minds, an ideal infinitely clearer and greater than any common people have, and they also realize how far they are from fulfilling their ideal.
Giacomo LeopardiIf the best company is that which we leave feeling most satisfied with ourselves, it follows that it is the company we leave most bored.
Giacomo Leopardi