--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: ...it has always been my temperament to…" description: "\"“...it has always been my temperament to prefer a tiny amount of the excellent to a plenitude of the mediocre...”\" — Robert Harris" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/05b/robert-harris-2039_dreyfus_it-has-always-been-my-temperament-to-pre_1886637.png" --- # ...it has always been my temperament to prefer a tiny… ![“...it has always been my temperament to prefer a tiny amount of the excellent to a plenitude of the mediocre...” quote by Robert Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/05b/robert-harris-2039_dreyfus_it-has-always-been-my-temperament-to-pre_1886637.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/05b/robert-harris-2039_dreyfus_it-has-always-been-my-temperament-to-pre_1886637.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/05b/robert-harris-2039_dreyfus_it-has-always-been-my-temperament-to-pre_1886637.png) > ““...it has always been my temperament to prefer a tiny amount of the excellent to a plenitude of the mediocre...”” [Robert Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-harris/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Preferring a small amount of excellence over abundant mediocrity highlights the value of quality over quantity. **In simple terms:** Quality beats quantity. Key Takeaway Seek excellence, not abundance. Themes quality excellence choice standards Mood reflective analytical Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - career decisions - art acquisition - product selection - personal habits Key Concepts Aesthetic judgment value assessment Questions to Reflect On - What areas of your life could benefit from higher standards? - How do you balance perfectionism with practicality? A Different Perspective Excellence can be costly and harder to find. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dreyfus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreyfus/) [France](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/france/) [Historical fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/historical-fiction/) [Military](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/military/) [Plenitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plenitude/) ## Related quotes > [“Many humans prefer tiny gods,” said the Gardener. “Tiny gods of limited preoccupations…”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheri-s-tepper/many-humans-prefer-tiny-gods-said-the-gardener-tiny-gods-of-limited/) [Sheri S. Tepper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheri-s-tepper/) > [“On the summit of a desolate rock on Devil’s Island, far from the few palm trees on the shore, a small hut of four…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mile-zola/on-the-summit-of-a-desolate-rock-on-devil-s-island-far-from-the-few/) [Émile Zola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mile-zola/) > [“It was not, however, to these Fascist groups, numerically unimportant as they were, that the Third Republic owed its collapse. On the contrary, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/it-was-not-however-to-these-fascist-groups-numerically-unimportant-as/) [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) > [From my point of view, the Dreyfus affair is most interesting because it was sparked by a single cause celebre. Just one court case…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-applebaum/from-my-point-of-view-the-dreyfus-affair-is-most-interesting-because/) [Anne Applebaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-applebaum/) > [“We forgive the crimes of individuals, but not their participation in a collective crime.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/we-forgive-the-crimes-of-individuals-but-not-their-participation-in-a/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [“How many people live in the moment? A few? How many people live for tomorrow at the sacrifice of today?" Dreyfus opened his fist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-doetsch/how-many-people-live-in-the-moment-a-few-how-many-people-live-for/) [Richard Doetsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-doetsch/) > [“The preconceived opinion which they brought to the Bench was evidently this: “Dreyfus has been condemned for the crime of treason by a Court-Martial;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mile-zola/the-preconceived-opinion-which-they-brought-to-the-bench-was/) [Émile Zola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mile-zola/) > [My views about the safety of Jews in the world have not been changed by the work on the Dreyfus affair or, for that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-begley/my-views-about-the-safety-of-jews-in-the-world-have-not-been-changed/) [Louis Begley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-begley/) > [“In January 1898 Zola took an important part in the defense of Captain Alfred Dreyfus, a French Jew unjustly accused of selling military secrets…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mile-zola/in-january-1898-zola-took-an-important-part-in-the-defense-of-captain/) [Émile Zola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mile-zola/) > [As you know, I am a novelist, and I really want to write novels. 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A year ago General Billot and Generals de Boisdeffre and Gonse knew that Dreyfus was innocent, and they have kept this frightful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mile-zola/understand-this-a-year-ago-general-billot-and-generals-de-boisdeffre/) [Émile Zola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mile-zola/) > [“Down in the cellar the Gestapo were licensed to practice was the Ministry of Justice called ‘heightened interrogation’. The rules had been drawn up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-harris/down-in-the-cellar-the-gestapo-were-licensed-to-practice-was-the/) [Robert Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-harris/) > [I cannot write if there is a sense of plenitude. I have to hypothesize that there is a loss.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/i-cannot-write-if-there-is-a-sense-of-plenitude-i-have-to-hypothesize/) [Andre Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) ## More by Robert Harris > [“Men mistook measurement for understanding. And they always had to put themselves at the center of everything. That was their greatest conceit. The earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-harris/men-mistook-measurement-for-understanding-and-they-always-had-to-put/) [Robert Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-harris/) > [If one first gives himself to the Lord, all other giving is easy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-harris/if-one-first-gives-himself-to-the-lord-all-other-giving-is-easy/) [Robert Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-harris/) > [“He felt more human with his boots on. A man can face the world with something on his feet.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-harris/he-felt-more-human-with-his-boots-on-a-man-can-face-the-world-with/) [Robert Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-harris/) > [Cicero most reminds me of Harold Wilson. Both men knew how to keep the show on the road.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-harris/cicero-most-reminds-me-of-harold-wilson-both-men-knew-how-to-keep-the/) [Robert Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-harris/) > [The financial world is at the cutting edge of high technology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-harris/the-financial-world-is-at-the-cutting-edge-of-high-technology/) [Robert Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-harris/) > [“To choose one's victims, to prepare one's plans minutely, to slake an implacable vengeance, and then to go to bed ... there is nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-harris/to-choose-one-s-victims-to-prepare-one-s-plans-minutely-to-slake-an/) [Robert Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-harris/) > [“Nature has granted man no better gift than the shortness of life. The senses grow dull, the limbs are numb, sight, bearing, gait, even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-harris/nature-has-granted-man-no-better-gift-than-the-shortness-of-life-the/) [Robert Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-harris/) > [“A crock of shit,” Rick had called it. But actually this was worse. Shit, to quote Gore Vidal, has its own integrity. This was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-harris/a-crock-of-shit-rick-had-called-it-but-actually-this-was-worse-shit/) [Robert Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-harris/) > [“... unfortunately, freedom alone is not enough, by far. If there is a shortage of bread, a shortage of butter and fats, a shortage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-harris/unfortunately-freedom-alone-is-not-enough-by-far-if-there-is-a/) [Robert Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-harris/) > [It is perseverance, and not genius that takes a man to the top. Rome is full of unrecognized geniuses. Only perseverance enables you to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-harris/it-is-perseverance-and-not-genius-that-takes-a-man-to-the-top-rome-is/) [Robert Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-harris/) > [“No one can really claim to know politics properly until he has stayed up all night writing a speech for delivery the following day.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-harris/no-one-can-really-claim-to-know-politics-properly-until-he-has-stayed/) [Robert Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-harris/) > [People perish. Books are immortal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-harris/people-perish-books-are-immortal/) [Robert Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-harris/) > [Does a name stick because it suits a man or does the man, unconsciously, evolve into his name?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-harris/does-a-name-stick-because-it-suits-a-man-or-does-the-man/) [Robert Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-harris/) > [“He glanced around the reading room and closed his eyes, trying to keep hold of the past for a minute longer, a fattening and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-harris/he-glanced-around-the-reading-room-and-closed-his-eyes-trying-to-keep/) [Robert Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-harris/) > [The natural impulse of men is to follow and whoever has the strongest sense of purpose will always dominate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-harris/the-natural-impulse-of-men-is-to-follow-and-whoever-has-the-strongest/) [Robert Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-harris/) [Explore all 184 Robert Harris quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-harris/) ## More Dreyfus quotes > [“Understand this! A year ago General Billot and Generals de Boisdeffre and Gonse knew that Dreyfus was innocent, and they have kept this frightful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mile-zola/understand-this-a-year-ago-general-billot-and-generals-de-boisdeffre/) [Émile Zola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mile-zola/) > [“Saddened by the misfortune of the Jews, remembering his friendship with Christians, increasingly mannered and affected as time went on for reasons to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/saddened-by-the-misfortune-of-the-jews-remembering-his-friendship/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [The Dreyfus Affair is an exceptional case. It's true that here and there you can find some dregs of anti-Semitism, but the situation is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-marie-le-pen/the-dreyfus-affair-is-an-exceptional-case-it-s-true-that-here-and/) [Jean-Marie Le Pen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-marie-le-pen/) > [As you know, I am a novelist, and I really want to write novels. But I knew enough about the Dreyfus case to understand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-begley/as-you-know-i-am-a-novelist-and-i-really-want-to-write-novels-but-i/) [Louis Begley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-begley/) > [“In January 1898 Zola took an important part in the defense of Captain Alfred Dreyfus, a French Jew unjustly accused of selling military secrets…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mile-zola/in-january-1898-zola-took-an-important-part-in-the-defense-of-captain/) [Émile Zola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mile-zola/) > [My views about the safety of Jews in the world have not been changed by the work on the Dreyfus affair or, for that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-begley/my-views-about-the-safety-of-jews-in-the-world-have-not-been-changed/) [Louis Begley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-begley/) > [“The preconceived opinion which they brought to the Bench was evidently this: “Dreyfus has been condemned for the crime of treason by a Court-Martial;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mile-zola/the-preconceived-opinion-which-they-brought-to-the-bench-was/) [Émile Zola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mile-zola/) > [“How many people live in the moment? A few? How many people live for tomorrow at the sacrifice of today?" Dreyfus opened his fist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-doetsch/how-many-people-live-in-the-moment-a-few-how-many-people-live-for/) [Richard Doetsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-doetsch/) > [“We forgive the crimes of individuals, but not their participation in a collective crime.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/we-forgive-the-crimes-of-individuals-but-not-their-participation-in-a/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [From my point of view, the Dreyfus affair is most interesting because it was sparked by a single cause celebre. Just one court case…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-applebaum/from-my-point-of-view-the-dreyfus-affair-is-most-interesting-because/) [Anne Applebaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-applebaum/) > [“It was not, however, to these Fascist groups, numerically unimportant as they were, that the Third Republic owed its collapse. On the contrary, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/it-was-not-however-to-these-fascist-groups-numerically-unimportant-as/) [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) > [“On the summit of a desolate rock on Devil’s Island, far from the few palm trees on the shore, a small hut of four…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mile-zola/on-the-summit-of-a-desolate-rock-on-devil-s-island-far-from-the-few/) [Émile Zola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mile-zola/) [Browse all 13 Dreyfus quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreyfus/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“...it has always been my temperament to prefer a tiny amount of the excellent to a plenitude of the mediocre...”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robert Harris" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-harris/it-has-always-been-my-temperament-to-prefer-a-tiny-amount-of-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Dreyfus" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-harris/it-has-always-been-my-temperament-to-prefer-a-tiny-amount-of-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/05b/robert-harris-2039_dreyfus_it-has-always-been-my-temperament-to-pre_1886637.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/05b/robert-harris-2039_dreyfus_it-has-always-been-my-temperament-to-pre_1886637.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/05b/robert-harris-2039_dreyfus_it-has-always-been-my-temperament-to-pre_1886637.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“...it has always been my temperament to prefer a tiny amount of the excellent to a plenitude of the…” — Robert Harris", "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": "Robert Harris", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-harris/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“...it has always been my temperament...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-harris/it-has-always-been-my-temperament-to-prefer-a-tiny-amount-of-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-harris/it-has-always-been-my-temperament-to-prefer-a-tiny-amount-of-the/#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 } } ] } ```