Bit by Bit - Chapter 24, Part 17

Trey Smith

A dog is not considered superior merely because it is good at barking; a man is not considered worthy merely because he is good at speaking. Much less, then, is he to be considered great. That which has become great does not think it worth trying to become great, much less to become virtuous. Nothing possesses a larger measure of greatness than Heaven and earth, yet when have they ever gone in search of greatness? He who understands what it means to possess greatness does not seek, does not lose, does not reject, and does not change himself for the sake of things. He returns to himself and finds the inexhaustible; he follows antiquity and discovers the imperishable - this is the sincerity of the Great Man.
~ Burton Watson translation ~

This is oh so true. Greatness is an attribute defined by others. It is something we bestow upon those who don't really give a wit as to what we think of them.

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