---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What is modesty but inverted pride?"
description: "\"What is modesty but inverted pride?\" — Chinua Achebe"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa5/chinua-achebe-781_inverted_what-is-modesty-but-inverted-pride-12478_1247825.png"
---

#  What is modesty but inverted pride?

![“What is modesty but inverted pride?” quote by Chinua Achebe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa5/chinua-achebe-781_inverted_what-is-modesty-but-inverted-pride-12478_1247825.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa5/chinua-achebe-781_inverted_what-is-modesty-but-inverted-pride-12478_1247825.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa5/chinua-achebe-781_inverted_what-is-modesty-but-inverted-pride-12478_1247825.png)

> “What is modesty but inverted pride?”

[Chinua Achebe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinua-achebe/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Modesty is a form of pride turned inward, masking true self-worth.

**In simple terms:** Modesty hides pride.

Key Takeaway

Recognize genuine humility.

Themes

humility pride identity

Mood

reflective thoughtful

Type

philosophical literary

When to use this quote

- personal relationships
- leadership
- cultural critique

Key Concepts

Psychology social norms

Questions to Reflect On

- When does humility become self‑importance?
- How can we differentiate true modesty from hidden pride?

A Different Perspective

Modesty can become self-deception.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Inverted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inverted/) [Inverted Pride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inverted-pride-3921920/) [Modesty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modesty/) [Modesty Inverted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modesty-inverted-3921919/) [Pride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pride/)

## Related quotes

> [Recognition is powerful, as long as it's authentic and specific. Whatever their level on the inverted pyramid, employees wants to feel needed and valued.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-spector/recognition-is-powerful-as-long-as-it-s-authentic-and-specific/)

[Robert Spector](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-spector/)

> [I don't know how you were diverted You were perverted too. I don't know how you were inverted No one alerted you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-harrison/i-don-t-know-how-you-were-diverted-you-were-perverted-too-i-don-t/)

[George Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-harrison/)

> [Since nature does not endow all men with equal beauty or equal intelligence, and the faculty of volition leads men to make different choices,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/since-nature-does-not-endow-all-men-with-equal-beauty-or-equal/)

[Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/)

> [ I worry that we don't currently have a democracy in the United States. Instead we have what \[political philosopher\] Sheldon Wolin has recently labeled… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-l-dumm/i-worry-that-we-don-t-currently-have-a-democracy-in-the-united-states/)

[Thomas L. Dumm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-l-dumm/)

> [You can be slum-born and slum-bred and still achieve something worth while; but it is a stupid inverted snobbishness to be proud of it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-fullerton-gerould/you-can-be-slum-born-and-slum-bred-and-still-achieve-something-worth/)

[Katharine Fullerton Gerould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-fullerton-gerould/)

> [You have to study composition to understand that things can be done backwards and forwards and upside down, inverted, but it's mainly just an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-bozzio/you-have-to-study-composition-to-understand-that-things-can-be-done/)

[Terry Bozzio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-bozzio/)

> [ Andrade \[who was looking after wartime inventions\] is like an inverted Micawber, waiting for something to turn down. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-tizard/andrade-who-was-looking-after-wartime-inventions-is-like-an-inverted/)

[Henry Tizard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-tizard/)

> [The mind leaps, and leaps perhaps with a sort of elation, through the immensities of space, but the spirit, frightened and cold, longs to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-wood-krutch/the-mind-leaps-and-leaps-perhaps-with-a-sort-of-elation-through-the/)

[Joseph Wood Krutch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-wood-krutch/)

> [“Murphy's law inverted: What can go right, will go right.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saloma-miller-furlong/murphy-s-law-inverted-what-can-go-right-will-go-right/)

[Saloma Miller Furlong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saloma-miller-furlong/)

> [O Winter, ruler of the inverted year!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-cowper/o-winter-ruler-of-the-inverted-year/)

[William Cowper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-cowper/)

> [Shakespeare was an intellectual ocean, whose waves touched all the shores of thought; within which were all the tides and waves of destiny and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/shakespeare-was-an-intellectual-ocean-whose-waves-touched-all-the/)

[Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/)

> [Remember the heart. It is supposed to be in control of the mind. That's the way it was supposed to happen. It got inverted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drunvalo-melchizedek/remember-the-heart-it-is-supposed-to-be-in-control-of-the-mind-that-s/)

[Drunvalo Melchizedek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drunvalo-melchizedek/)

> [“At no point during the making of this book have I inverted my penis although I did go to Blackpool which turned out to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-rudd/at-no-point-during-the-making-of-this-book-have-i-inverted-my-penis/)

[Matt Rudd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-rudd/)

> [In the bureaucracy, incentives will forever be inverted. Failure results in success: in more funds, more training, more time off.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilana-mercer/in-the-bureaucracy-incentives-will-forever-be-inverted-failure/)

[Ilana Mercer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilana-mercer/)

> [“is inverted to faith. It is faith turned upside down. When”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/florence-scovel-shinn/is-inverted-to-faith-it-is-faith-turned-upside-down-when/)

[Florence Scovel Shinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/florence-scovel-shinn/)

## More by Chinua Achebe

> [“In such a regime, I say you died a good death if your life had inspired someone to come forward and shoot your murdered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinua-achebe/in-such-a-regime-i-say-you-died-a-good-death-if-your-life-had/)

[Chinua Achebe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinua-achebe/)

> [“Do not despair. I know you will not despair. You have a manly and a proud heart. A proud heart can survive a general…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinua-achebe/do-not-despair-i-know-you-will-not-despair-you-have-a-manly-and-a/)

[Chinua Achebe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinua-achebe/)

> [My son even if you want to fall, at least fall where your bones can be gathered](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinua-achebe/my-son-even-if-you-want-to-fall-at-least-fall-where-your-bones-can-be/)

[Chinua Achebe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinua-achebe/)

> [“And so Mr. Brown came to be respected even by the clan, because he trod softly on its faith.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinua-achebe/and-so-mr-brown-came-to-be-respected-even-by-the-clan-because-he-trod/)

[Chinua Achebe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinua-achebe/)

> [“I have learned that a man who makes trouble for others is also making it for himself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinua-achebe/i-have-learned-that-a-man-who-makes-trouble-for-others-is-also-making/)

[Chinua Achebe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinua-achebe/)

> [In fact, I thought that Christianity was very a good and a very valuable thing for us. But after a while, I began to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinua-achebe/in-fact-i-thought-that-christianity-was-very-a-good-and-a-very/)

[Chinua Achebe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinua-achebe/)

> [I find Nigeria very frustrating. I am not alone in this. There are many Nigerians abroad. As you know, the brain drain is just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinua-achebe/i-find-nigeria-very-frustrating-i-am-not-alone-in-this-there-are-many/)

[Chinua Achebe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinua-achebe/)

> [I do not actually see how art, literature can be anything other that being in that domain of trying to tell us, trying to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinua-achebe/i-do-not-actually-see-how-art-literature-can-be-anything-other-that/)

[Chinua Achebe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinua-achebe/)

> [Democracy is not something you put away for ten years, and then in the 11th year you wake up and start practicing again. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinua-achebe/democracy-is-not-something-you-put-away-for-ten-years-and-then-in-the/)

[Chinua Achebe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinua-achebe/)

> [When there is a big tree small ones climb on its back to reach the sun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinua-achebe/when-there-is-a-big-tree-small-ones-climb-on-its-back-to-reach-the-sun/)

[Chinua Achebe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinua-achebe/)

> [When I began going to school and learned to read, I encountered stories of other people and other lands. In one of my essays,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinua-achebe/when-i-began-going-to-school-and-learned-to-read-i-encountered/)

[Chinua Achebe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinua-achebe/)

> [Almost nobody dances sober, unless they happen to be insane. H. P. LOVECRAFT, attributed, Telling It Like It Is Dancing is very important nowadays.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinua-achebe/almost-nobody-dances-sober-unless-they-happen-to-be-insane-h-p/)

[Chinua Achebe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinua-achebe/)

> [This is why I find racism impossible, because this is against humanity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinua-achebe/this-is-why-i-find-racism-impossible-because-this-is-against-humanity/)

[Chinua Achebe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinua-achebe/)

> [“Then listen to me,' he said and cleared his throat. 'It's true that a child belongs to its father. But when a father beats…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinua-achebe/then-listen-to-me-he-said-and-cleared-his-throat-it-s-true-that-a/)

[Chinua Achebe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinua-achebe/)

> [What you must accept is that your life is not going to be the same while you are writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinua-achebe/what-you-must-accept-is-that-your-life-is-not-going-to-be-the-same/)

[Chinua Achebe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinua-achebe/)

[Explore all 368 Chinua Achebe quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinua-achebe/)

## More Inverted quotes

> [Recognition is powerful, as long as it's authentic and specific. Whatever their level on the inverted pyramid, employees wants to feel needed and valued.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-spector/recognition-is-powerful-as-long-as-it-s-authentic-and-specific/)

[Robert Spector](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-spector/)

> [In the bureaucracy, incentives will forever be inverted. Failure results in success: in more funds, more training, more time off.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilana-mercer/in-the-bureaucracy-incentives-will-forever-be-inverted-failure/)

[Ilana Mercer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilana-mercer/)

> [“At no point during the making of this book have I inverted my penis although I did go to Blackpool which turned out to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-rudd/at-no-point-during-the-making-of-this-book-have-i-inverted-my-penis/)

[Matt Rudd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-rudd/)

> [Remember the heart. It is supposed to be in control of the mind. That's the way it was supposed to happen. It got inverted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drunvalo-melchizedek/remember-the-heart-it-is-supposed-to-be-in-control-of-the-mind-that-s/)

[Drunvalo Melchizedek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drunvalo-melchizedek/)

> [Shakespeare was an intellectual ocean, whose waves touched all the shores of thought; within which were all the tides and waves of destiny and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/shakespeare-was-an-intellectual-ocean-whose-waves-touched-all-the/)

[Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/)

> [O Winter, ruler of the inverted year!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-cowper/o-winter-ruler-of-the-inverted-year/)

[William Cowper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-cowper/)

> [“Murphy's law inverted: What can go right, will go right.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saloma-miller-furlong/murphy-s-law-inverted-what-can-go-right-will-go-right/)

[Saloma Miller Furlong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saloma-miller-furlong/)

> [The mind leaps, and leaps perhaps with a sort of elation, through the immensities of space, but the spirit, frightened and cold, longs to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-wood-krutch/the-mind-leaps-and-leaps-perhaps-with-a-sort-of-elation-through-the/)

[Joseph Wood Krutch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-wood-krutch/)

> [ Andrade \[who was looking after wartime inventions\] is like an inverted Micawber, waiting for something to turn down. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-tizard/andrade-who-was-looking-after-wartime-inventions-is-like-an-inverted/)

[Henry Tizard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-tizard/)

> [You have to study composition to understand that things can be done backwards and forwards and upside down, inverted, but it's mainly just an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-bozzio/you-have-to-study-composition-to-understand-that-things-can-be-done/)

[Terry Bozzio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-bozzio/)

> [You can be slum-born and slum-bred and still achieve something worth while; but it is a stupid inverted snobbishness to be proud of it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-fullerton-gerould/you-can-be-slum-born-and-slum-bred-and-still-achieve-something-worth/)

[Katharine Fullerton Gerould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-fullerton-gerould/)

> [ I worry that we don't currently have a democracy in the United States. Instead we have what \[political philosopher\] Sheldon Wolin has recently labeled… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-l-dumm/i-worry-that-we-don-t-currently-have-a-democracy-in-the-united-states/)

[Thomas L. Dumm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-l-dumm/)

> [Since nature does not endow all men with equal beauty or equal intelligence, and the faculty of volition leads men to make different choices,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/since-nature-does-not-endow-all-men-with-equal-beauty-or-equal/)

[Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/)

> [I don't know how you were diverted You were perverted too. I don't know how you were inverted No one alerted you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-harrison/i-don-t-know-how-you-were-diverted-you-were-perverted-too-i-don-t/)

[George Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-harrison/)

> [“is inverted to faith. It is faith turned upside down. When”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/florence-scovel-shinn/is-inverted-to-faith-it-is-faith-turned-upside-down-when/)

[Florence Scovel Shinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/florence-scovel-shinn/)

[Browse all 53 Inverted quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inverted/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "What is modesty but inverted pride?",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Chinua Achebe"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinua-achebe/what-is-modesty-but-inverted-pride/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Inverted"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinua-achebe/what-is-modesty-but-inverted-pride/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa5/chinua-achebe-781_inverted_what-is-modesty-but-inverted-pride-12478_1247825.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa5/chinua-achebe-781_inverted_what-is-modesty-but-inverted-pride-12478_1247825.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa5/chinua-achebe-781_inverted_what-is-modesty-but-inverted-pride-12478_1247825.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“What is modesty but inverted pride?” — Chinua Achebe",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Chinua Achebe",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinua-achebe/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "What is modesty but inverted pride?",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinua-achebe/what-is-modesty-but-inverted-pride/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinua-achebe/what-is-modesty-but-inverted-pride/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```