“My dear Watson," said Sherlock Holmes, "I cannot agree with those who rank modesty among the virtues. To the logician all things should be seen exactly as they are, and to underestimate one's self is as much a departure from truth as to exaggerate one's own powers.”
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
Australians are wary of anyone with a high opinion of themselves, a throwback to a young nation's determination to be class free. This habit lets us down, we are inclined to think of ourselves as less than we are.
Self honesty is the most difficult honesty of all.
www.kentparkstreetblog.com
so true.
ReplyDeleteAlways one of my favourite Sherlockisms. The only thing Australians hate more than people with a high opinion of themselves, is people whose high opinion of themselves is justified. (A quibble about this story: who sent Holmes and Watson the news clipping from the continent?)
ReplyDeleteThanks Elizabeth.
ReplyDeleteDaniel, is it ours to question the sources of the great man? He has his ways.