To speak less of oneself than what one really is, is folly, not modesty; and to take that for current pay which is under a man's value, is pusillanimity and cowardice.
Michel de MontaigneFor table-talk, I prefer the pleasant and witty before the learned and the grave; in bed, beauty before goodness.
Michel de MontaigneWhenever a new finding is reported to the world people say - It is probably not true. Later on, when the reliability of a new finding has been fully confirmed, people say - OK, it may be true but it has no real significance. At last, when even the significance of the finding is obvious to everybody, people say - Well, it might have some significance, but the idea is not new.
Michel de Montaigne