Top 15 Modesty Quotes (2025 Update)

1. “A great man is always willing to be little.”

— Ralph Waldo Emerson

Also featured in: Integrity Quotes, Philosophical Quotes, Greatness Quotes, Humble Quotes

2. “Accomplish but do not boast, accomplish without show, accomplish without arrogance, accomplish without grabbing, accomplish without forcing.”

— Lao Tzu

Also featured in: Goal Quotes, Meaning Quotes, Spiritual Growth Quotes, Positive Short Quotes

3. “She does not show herself, and therefore is apparent. She does not affirm herself, and therefore is acknowledged. She does not boast and therefore has merit. She does not strive and therefore is successful. It is exactly because she does not contend, that nobody can contend with her.”

— Lao Tzu

Also featured in: Grace Quotes, Wise Quotes, Philosophy Quotes, Virtue Quotes

4. “You are no better than anyone else and no one is better than you.”

— John Wooden

Also featured in: Self-Esteem Quotes, Acceptance Quotes, Quotes About Humanity, Respect Quotes

5. “Modesty is the highest elegance.”

— Coco Chanel

Also featured in: Short Quotes

6. “Talent is God given. Be humble. Fame is man-given. Be grateful. Conceit is self-given. Be careful.”

— John Wooden

Also featured in: Athlete Quotes, Coaching Quotes, Values Quotes, Humility Quotes

7. “We come nearest to the great when we are great in humility.”

— Rabindranath Tagore

Also featured in: Virtue Quotes, Humble Quotes, Humility Quotes

8. “I’m nobody! Who are you? Are you nobody, too? Then there ’s a pair of us – don’t tell! They ’d banish us, you know. How dreary to be somebody! How public, like a frog To tell your name the livelong day To an admiring bog!”

— Emily Dickinson

Also featured in: Identity Quotes, Poetry Quotes, Feeling Alone Quotes

9. “I am nothing special, of this I am sure. I am a common man with common thoughts and I’ve led a common life. There are no monuments dedicated to me and my name will soon be forgotten, but I’ve loved another with all my heart and soul, and to me, this has always been enough.”

— Nicholas Sparks

Also featured in: Love You Quotes, Romantic Quotes, True Love Quotes, Valentine's Day Quotes, Humility Quotes

10. “I am more worried about being a good person than being the best football player in the world.”

— Lionel Messi

Also featured in: Be Kind Quotes, Football Quotes, Humility Quotes

11. “Being humble is cooler than being famous.”

— Robin S. Sharma

Also featured in: Humble Quotes

12. “People who are humble don’t talk too much; they listen.”

— Frederick Lenz

Also featured in: Humility Quotes

13. “If one assumes a humble attitude, one’s own good qualities will increase. Whereas if one is proud, one will become jealous of others, one will look down on others, and due to that there will be unhappiness in society.”

— Dalai Lama XIV

Also featured in: Inner Peace Quotes, Buddhist Quotes, Humble Quotes, Humility Quotes

14. “The seeker after truth should be humbler than the dust. The world crushes the dust under its feet, but the seeker after truth should so humble himself that even the dust could crush him. Only then, and not till then, will he have a glimpse of truth.”

— Mahatma Gandhi

Also featured in: Humility Quotes

15. “But I could be wrong.”

— Carl Sagan

Also featured in: Doubt Quotes

16. “You must always strive to be the best, but you must never believe that you are.”

— Juan Manuel Fangio