--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If modesty and candor are necessary to an…" description: "\"If modesty and candor are necessary to an author in his judgment of his own works, no less are they in his reader.\" — Sarah Fielding" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/359/sarah-fielding-19151_books_if-modesty-and-candor-are-necessary-to-a_2039125.png" --- # If modesty and candor are necessary to an author in his… ![“If modesty and candor are necessary to an author in his judgment of his own works, no less are they in his reader.” quote by Sarah Fielding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/359/sarah-fielding-19151_books_if-modesty-and-candor-are-necessary-to-a_2039125.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/359/sarah-fielding-19151_books_if-modesty-and-candor-are-necessary-to-a_2039125.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/359/sarah-fielding-19151_books_if-modesty-and-candor-are-necessary-to-a_2039125.png) > “If modesty and candor are necessary to an author in his judgment of his own works, no less are they in his reader.” [Sarah Fielding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-fielding/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Both authors and readers need humility and honesty to judge works fairly. **In simple terms:** Humility and honesty aid judgment Key Takeaway Cultivate modesty and candor in critique Themes literature humility critique Mood analytical thoughtful Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - book clubs - academic reviews - creative writing Key Concepts self‑awareness ethical reading author‑reader relationship Questions to Reflect On - How can readers recognize their own biases? - What role does humility play in literary criticism? A Different Perspective Critics may be biased despite humility. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Candor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/candor/) [Judgment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/judgment/) [Modesty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modesty/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [Every trait of beauty may be traced to some virtue, as to innocence, candor, generosity, modesty, and heroism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-henri-bernardin-de-saint-pierre/every-trait-of-beauty-may-be-traced-to-some-virtue-as-to-innocence/) [Jacques-Henri Bernardin de Saint-Pierre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-henri-bernardin-de-saint-pierre/) > [I know not whether it would be too bold an assertion to say that candor makes capacity… But in order to try the truth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-fielding/i-know-not-whether-it-would-be-too-bold-an-assertion-to-say-that/) [Sarah Fielding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-fielding/) > [Yet if strict criticism should till frown on our method, let candor and good humor forgive what is done to the best of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-fielding/yet-if-strict-criticism-should-till-frown-on-our-method-let-candor/) [Sarah Fielding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-fielding/) > [Getting candor right - with your reports, your peers, and your boss - is a skill that can make or break your career.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-welch/getting-candor-right-with-your-reports-your-peers-and-your-boss-is-a/) [Jack Welch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-welch/) > [I have ventured to write more intimately about my personal life than is customary for a member of the Supreme Court, and with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonia-sotomayor/i-have-ventured-to-write-more-intimately-about-my-personal-life-than/) [Sonia Sotomayor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonia-sotomayor/) > [“Clare wasn't worried anymore about their being mean to each other. She imagined that someday she'd be part of a friendship in which she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marisa-de-los-santos/clare-wasn-t-worried-anymore-about-their-being-mean-to-each-other-she/) [Marisa de los Santos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marisa-de-los-santos/) > [“He is the kind of person I should expect to rescue one from a mad dog at any risk but then insist on a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-foote/he-is-the-kind-of-person-i-should-expect-to-rescue-one-from-a-mad-dog/) [Shelby Foote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-foote/) > [Michelle Alexander's brave and bold new book paints a haunting picture in which dreary felon garb, post-prison joblessness, and loss of voting rights now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lani-guinier/michelle-alexander-s-brave-and-bold-new-book-paints-a-haunting/) Lani Guinier > [Jennifer Fulwiler's story of finding God when you aren't looking for Him is a universal tale which will touch many hearts. With warmth and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-arroyo/jennifer-fulwiler-s-story-of-finding-god-when-you-aren-t-looking-for/) [Raymond Arroyo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-arroyo/) > [And he’s right to say that every faction loses something when it gains a virtue: the Dauntless, brave but cruel; the Erudite, intelligent but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/and-he-s-right-to-say-that-every-faction-loses-something-when-it/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) > [Honesty is always the best policy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/honesty-is-always-the-best-policy/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) > [Truth is a risky proposition. 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I'm not talking about boldface lying, but a tendency to withhold information. That behavior is far more common, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-welch/take-lack-of-candor-i-m-not-talking-about-boldface-lying-but-a/) [Jack Welch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-welch/) ## More by Sarah Fielding > [Yet if strict criticism should till frown on our method, let candor and good humor forgive what is done to the best of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-fielding/yet-if-strict-criticism-should-till-frown-on-our-method-let-candor/) [Sarah Fielding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-fielding/) > [What I mean by love ... is this. A sympathetic liking--excited by fancy, directed by judgment--and to which is joined also a most sincere…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-fielding/what-i-mean-by-love-is-this-a-sympathetic-liking-excited-by-fancy/) [Sarah Fielding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-fielding/) > [ \[S\]haring in common, without any thought of separate property, had ever been their friendly practice, from their first connection. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-fielding/s-haring-in-common-without-any-thought-of-separate-property-had-ever/) [Sarah Fielding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-fielding/) > [I fancied I had some constancy of mind because I could bear my own sufferings, but found through the sufferings of others I could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-fielding/i-fancied-i-had-some-constancy-of-mind-because-i-could-bear-my-own/) [Sarah Fielding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-fielding/) > [I believe no gentleman would like to have his family affairs neglected because his wife was filling her head with crotchets and pothooks, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-fielding/i-believe-no-gentleman-would-like-to-have-his-family-affairs/) [Sarah Fielding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-fielding/) > [I often used to think myself inthe case of the fox-hunter, who, when he had toiled and sweated all day in the chase as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-fielding/i-often-used-to-think-myself-inthe-case-of-the-fox-hunter-who-when-he/) [Sarah Fielding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-fielding/) > [I was condemned to be beheaded, or burnt, as the king pleased; and he was graciously pleased, from the great remains of his love,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-fielding/i-was-condemned-to-be-beheaded-or-burnt-as-the-king-pleased-and-he/) [Sarah Fielding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-fielding/) > [ \[H\]ow do I pity those who (assuming the name of friends) surround themselves with maxims importing the wisdom of doubt and suspicion, 'til they… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-fielding/h-ow-do-i-pity-those-who-assuming-the-name-of-friends-surround/) [Sarah Fielding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-fielding/) > [I endeavor not to conceal that I believe there is a great mixture of desire in the passion which is called love--or rather, without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-fielding/i-endeavor-not-to-conceal-that-i-believe-there-is-a-great-mixture-of/) [Sarah Fielding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-fielding/) > [The supposition that it was possible for any woman to be so mean-spirited as not at least to wish to tear out her rival's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-fielding/the-supposition-that-it-was-possible-for-any-woman-to-be-so-mean/) [Sarah Fielding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-fielding/) > [The words of kindness are more healing to a drooping heart than balm or honey.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-fielding/the-words-of-kindness-are-more-healing-to-a-drooping-heart-than-balm/) [Sarah Fielding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-fielding/) > [There appears to be but two grand master passions or movers in the human mind, namely, love and pride. And what constitutes the beauty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-fielding/there-appears-to-be-but-two-grand-master-passions-or-movers-in-the/) [Sarah Fielding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-fielding/) > [Agreeable then to my present inclination, I formed the object of my own worship, which was no other than my own understanding.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-fielding/agreeable-then-to-my-present-inclination-i-formed-the-object-of-my/) [Sarah Fielding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-fielding/) > [The motives to actions and the inward turns of mind seem in our opinion more necessary to be known than the actions themselves; and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-fielding/the-motives-to-actions-and-the-inward-turns-of-mind-seem-in-our/) [Sarah Fielding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-fielding/) > [ \[F\]or women, like tradesmen, draw in the injudicious to buy their goods by the high value they themselves set upon them… They endeavor strongly… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-fielding/f-or-women-like-tradesmen-draw-in-the-injudicious-to-buy-their-goods/) [Sarah Fielding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-fielding/) [Explore all 33 Sarah Fielding quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-fielding/) ## More Books quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/) Christopher K. Krebs > [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. 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