He is a great man who uses earthenware dishes as if they were silver; but he is equally great who uses silver as if it were earthenware.
In plain words
A truly great person acts the same whether they have a little or a lot.
Where these words come from
- 90% sureThese words were traced back to where they first appeared. That source is listed below.
- Moral Letters to Lucilius, Letter 5 'On the Philosopher's Mean' (c. 63-65 CE), Gummere translation (Loeb Classical Library, 1917), Wikisource text.
- Moral Letters to Lucilius, Letter 5
- c. 65 CE · Rome · philosophical letter to Lucilius
