Arrogance

"All the time, he hoped they would understand that his arrogance masked only shyness—or did he hope that it was his shyness which masked arrogance? He did not know. Who could presume to know? The one quality holds much of the other. Both refuse to come forward and share."

"How long will the wicked be jubilant? They pour out arrogant words; all the evildoers are full of boasting."

"Men see with arrogant eyes which organize everything seen with reference to themselves and their own interests."

"There are two Americas. One is the America of Lincoln and Adlai Stevenson; the other is the America of Teddy Roosevelt and the modern superpatriots. One is generous and humane, the other narrowly egotistical; one is self-critical, the other self-righteous; one is sensible, the other romantic; one is good-humored, the other solemn; one is inquiring, the other pontificating; one is moderate, the other filled with passionate intensity; one is judicious and the other arrogant in the use of great power."

"Conceit, arrogance and egotism are the essentials of patriotism. Let me illustrate. Patriotism assumes that our globe is divided into little spots, each one surrounded by an iron gate. Those who have had the fortune of being born on some particular spot consider themselves nobler, better, grander, more intelligent than those living beings inhabiting any other spot. It is, therefore, the duty of everyone living on that chosen spot to fight, kill and die in the attempt to impose his superiority upon all the others.."

"Where men are the most sure and arrogant, they are commonly the most mistaken, and have there given reins to passion, without that proper deliberation and suspense, which can alone secure them from the grossest absurdities."

"Of the lessons also gained from the history of mankind is the fact that greed and arrogance, when combined, lead the oppressor to do injustice not only to others, but to himself as well; once this combination of greed and arrogance has misled him into a sense of undefeatable capability and power, as he takes the road of falsehood and aggression, committing the most heinous acts and proceeding from that sick imagination, to fall down the precipice and then into hell."

"An extraordinary amount of arrogance is present in any claim of having been the first in "inventing" something. It's an arrogance that some enjoy, and others do not. Now I reach beyond arrogance when I proclaim that fractals had been pictured forever but their true role remained unrecognized and waited for me to be uncovered."

"With the arrogance of youth, I determined to do no less than to transform the world with Beauty. If I have succeeded in some small way, if only in one small corner of the world, amongst the men and women I love, then I shall count myself blessed, and blessed, and blessed, and the work goes on."

"And behold, We said to the angels: “Bow down to Adam” and they bowed down. Not so Iblis (Satan): he refused and was haughty: he was of those who reject Faith."

"It is We Who created you and gave you shape; then We bade the angels bow down to Adam, and they bowed down; not so Iblis; He refused to be of those who bow down. (God) said: “What prevented thee from bowing down when I commanded thee?” He said: “I am better than he: Thou didst create me from fire, and him from clay.” (God) said: “Get thee down from this: it is not for thee to be arrogant here: get out, for thou art of the meanest (of creatures).”"

"And do not walk upon the earth exultantly. Indeed, you will never tear the earth (apart), and you will never reach the mountains in height."

"When thy Lord said to the angels: Surely I am going to create a man from dust. So when I have made him complete and breathed into him of My spirit, fall down submitting to him. And the angels submitted, all of them, But not Iblis. He was proud and he was one of the disbelievers. He said: O Iblis, what prevented thee from submitting to him whom I created with both My hands? Art thou proud or art thou of the exalted Ones? He said: I am better than he; Thou hast created me of fire, and him Thou didst create of dust. He said: Go forth from hence surely thou art driven away: And surely My curse is on thee to the day of Judgment."

"Then We will save those who were righteous, and We leave the wicked in it on their knees. And when Our clear revelations were recited to them, those who rejected said to those who believed: "Which of the two groups of ours is more in authority and more prosperous?" And how many generations have We destroyed before them? They had more wealth and more influence."

"Do not scornfully turn your face away from people. Do not walk around puffed-up with pride; God does not love arrogant and boastful people."

"I think that Bush has alienated every friend that we've made over the last 200 years with his arrogance and indifference."

"Totalitarian arrogance may pretend to change history and reality. It devastates societies, traditions and individual freedom, but it will ultimately fail."

"You know the world is going crazy when the best rapper is a white guy, the best golfer is a black guy, the tallest guy in the NBA is Chinese, the Swiss hold the America's Cup, France is accusing the U.S. of arrogance, Germany doesn't want to go to war, and the three most powerful men in America are named 'Bush', 'Dick', and 'Colon'."

"In our complex industrial civilization of today the peace of righteousness and justice, the only kind of peace worth having, is at least as necessary in the industrial world as it is among nations. There is at least as much need to curb the cruel greed and arrogance of part of the world of capital, to curb the cruel greed and violence of part of the world of labor, as to check a cruel and unhealthy militarism in international relationships."

"Your arrogance in your manhood prevents you from understanding."

"Punishment is assigned for the swaggerer; he is afflicted with diseases."

"Surfeit begets insolence, when prosperity comes to a bad man."

"I was sure that I was right, but arrogance is best left undisplayed."