---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I will never demean myself to speak about…"
description: "\"“I will never demean myself to speak about my courage,\" said Julien, coldly, \"it would be mean to do so. Let the world judge by the facts.”\" — Stendhal"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/73f/stendhal-1379_1830_i-will-never-demean-myself-to-speak-abou_265924.jpg"
---

#  I will never demean myself to speak about my courage,"…

![“I will never demean myself to speak about my courage,&quot; said Julien, coldly, &quot;it would be mean to do so. Let the world judge by the facts.” quote by Stendhal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/73f/stendhal-1379_1830_i-will-never-demean-myself-to-speak-abou_265924.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/73f/stendhal-1379_1830_i-will-never-demean-myself-to-speak-abou_265924.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/73f/stendhal-1379_1830_i-will-never-demean-myself-to-speak-abou_265924.jpg)

> ““I will never demean myself to speak about my courage," said Julien, coldly, "it would be mean to do so. Let the world judge by the facts.””

[Stendhal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stendhal/)

## About This Quote

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

He refuses to boast about courage, preferring facts to speak for him.

**In simple terms:** Let actions, not words, show courage.

Key Takeaway

Let deeds prove bravery.

Themes

humility integrity self‑respect

Mood

reflective serious

Type

philosophical ethical

When to use this quote

- public speaking
- leadership decisions
- personal branding

Key Concepts

ethical conduct personal reputation

Questions to Reflect On

- When should you speak of your achievements?
- How do you ensure facts reflect your courage?

A Different Perspective

Silence may be misinterpreted as lack of confidence.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Courage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/courage/) [Discretion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discretion/)

## Related quotes

> [“Each man for himself in that desert of egoism which is called life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stendhal/each-man-for-himself-in-that-desert-of-egoism-which-is-called-life/)

[Stendhal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stendhal/)

> [“Could anything possibly be more humorous than believing in the depth or in the depravity of the Parisian character?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stendhal/could-anything-possibly-be-more-humorous-than-believing-in-the-depth/)

[Stendhal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stendhal/)

> [“Since the time of Voltaire and two-chamber Government, which is at bottom simply distrust and personal self-examination, and gives the popular mind that bad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stendhal/since-the-time-of-voltaire-and-two-chamber-government-which-is-at/)

[Stendhal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stendhal/)

> [“Oh, if there were only a true religion. Fool that I am, I see a Gothic cathedral and venerable stained-glass windows, and my weak…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stendhal/oh-if-there-were-only-a-true-religion-fool-that-i-am-i-see-a-gothic/)

[Stendhal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stendhal/)

> [“IV. IS MAN A MACHINE? Yes, said Julien Offroy de La Mettrie.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/iv-is-man-a-machine-yes-said-julien-offroy-de-la-mettrie/)

[Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/)

> [Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/courage-is-what-it-takes-to-stand-up-and-speak-courage-is-also-what/)

[Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/)

> [“Keep in mind the words of Sir Winston Churchill: 'Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-cain/keep-in-mind-the-words-of-sir-winston-churchill-courage-is-what-it/)

[Susan Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-cain/)

> [Everybody's opinion is equally valid, and I feel like everybody should have an opportunity to speak out, and everyone should have the courage to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-franti/everybody-s-opinion-is-equally-valid-and-i-feel-like-everybody-should/)

[Michael Franti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-franti/)

> [If you have the strength to speak, you should have the courage to listen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishan-panwar/if-you-have-the-strength-to-speak-you-should-have-the-courage-to/)

[Nishan Panwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishan-panwar/)

> [ “{My mom\] long ago advised me, when I was feeling blue or self-doubting about men, that the best thing to do was go out… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-dowd/my-mom-long-ago-advised-me-when-i-was-feeling-blue-or-self-doubting/)

[Maureen Dowd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-dowd/)

> [“There are all kinds of courage," said Dumbledore, smiling. "It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-k-rowling/there-are-all-kinds-of-courage-said-dumbledore-smiling-it-takes-a/)

[J.K. Rowling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-k-rowling/)

> [“When we spoke about attempts to give a man in camp mental courage, we said that he had to be shown something to look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-e-frankl/when-we-spoke-about-attempts-to-give-a-man-in-camp-mental-courage-we/)

[Viktor E. Frankl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-e-frankl/)

> [I can't tell you how many times people - through the anonymity and safety of the Internet, of course - have told me 'You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-goad/i-can-t-tell-you-how-many-times-people-through-the-anonymity-and/)

[Jim Goad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-goad/)

> [It is an extraordinary act of courage,' said Tulas Shorn, 'to come to know a stranger's pain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-erikson/it-is-an-extraordinary-act-of-courage-said-tulas-shorn-to-come-to/)

[Steven Erikson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-erikson/)

> [Before I could lose my courage, I said, "Don't I get a kiss for luck? It's kind of a tradition, right?" I figured she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/before-i-could-lose-my-courage-i-said-don-t-i-get-a-kiss-for-luck-it/)

[Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/)

## More by Stendhal

> [At a distance, we cannot conceive of the authority of a despot who knows all his subjects on sight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stendhal/at-a-distance-we-cannot-conceive-of-the-authority-of-a-despot-who/)

[Stendhal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stendhal/)

> [The pleasures and the cares of the luckiest ambition, even of limitless power, are nothing next to the intimate happiness that tenderness and love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stendhal/the-pleasures-and-the-cares-of-the-luckiest-ambition-even-of/)

[Stendhal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stendhal/)

> [The more a race is governed by its passions, the less it has acquired the habit of cautious and reasoned argument, the more intense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stendhal/the-more-a-race-is-governed-by-its-passions-the-less-it-has-acquired/)

[Stendhal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stendhal/)

> [The tyranny of public opinion (and what an opinion!) is as fatuous in the small towns of France as it is in the United…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stendhal/the-tyranny-of-public-opinion-and-what-an-opinion-is-as-fatuous-in/)

[Stendhal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stendhal/)

> [In love, unlike most other passions, the recollection of what you have had and lost is always better than what you can hope for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stendhal/in-love-unlike-most-other-passions-the-recollection-of-what-you-have/)

[Stendhal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stendhal/)

> [“The footman burst in, announcing, 'Monsieur le Duc de ---.' 'Hold your tongue, you fool,' said the Duke as he entered the room. He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stendhal/the-footman-burst-in-announcing-monsieur-le-duc-de-hold-your-tongue/)

[Stendhal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stendhal/)

> [Signs cannot be represented, in a spy's report, so damningly as words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stendhal/signs-cannot-be-represented-in-a-spy-s-report-so-damningly-as-words/)

[Stendhal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stendhal/)

> [“If you think of paying court to those in power, your eternal ruin is assured.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stendhal/if-you-think-of-paying-court-to-those-in-power-your-eternal-ruin-is/)

[Stendhal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stendhal/)

> [Your career will be a painful one. I divine something in you which offends the vulgar.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stendhal/your-career-will-be-a-painful-one-i-divine-something-in-you-which/)

[Stendhal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stendhal/)

> [On a cold winter morning a cigar fortifies the soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stendhal/on-a-cold-winter-morning-a-cigar-fortifies-the-soul/)

[Stendhal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stendhal/)

> [A forty-year-old woman is only something to men who have loved her in her youth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stendhal/a-forty-year-old-woman-is-only-something-to-men-who-have-loved-her-in/)

[Stendhal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stendhal/)

> [Perhaps men who cannot love passionately are those who feel the effect of beauty most keenly; at any rate this is the strongest impression…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stendhal/perhaps-men-who-cannot-love-passionately-are-those-who-feel-the/)

[Stendhal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stendhal/)

> [Who knows whether it is not true that phosphorus and mind are not the same thing?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stendhal/who-knows-whether-it-is-not-true-that-phosphorus-and-mind-are-not-the/)

[Stendhal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stendhal/)

> [“Could anything possibly be more humorous than believing in the depth or in the depravity of the Parisian character?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stendhal/could-anything-possibly-be-more-humorous-than-believing-in-the-depth/)

[Stendhal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stendhal/)

> [The idea which tyrants find most useful is the idea of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stendhal/the-idea-which-tyrants-find-most-useful-is-the-idea-of-god/)

[Stendhal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stendhal/)

[Explore all 184 Stendhal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stendhal/)

## More 1830 quotes

> [“Could anything possibly be more humorous than believing in the depth or in the depravity of the Parisian character?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stendhal/could-anything-possibly-be-more-humorous-than-believing-in-the-depth/)

[Stendhal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stendhal/)

> [“Since the time of Voltaire and two-chamber Government, which is at bottom simply distrust and personal self-examination, and gives the popular mind that bad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stendhal/since-the-time-of-voltaire-and-two-chamber-government-which-is-at/)

[Stendhal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stendhal/)

> [“Oh, if there were only a true religion. Fool that I am, I see a Gothic cathedral and venerable stained-glass windows, and my weak…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stendhal/oh-if-there-were-only-a-true-religion-fool-that-i-am-i-see-a-gothic/)

[Stendhal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stendhal/)

> [“Each man for himself in that desert of egoism which is called life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stendhal/each-man-for-himself-in-that-desert-of-egoism-which-is-called-life/)

[Stendhal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stendhal/)

Browse all 5 1830 quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“I will never demean myself to speak about my courage,\" said Julien, coldly, \"it would be mean to do so. Let the world judge by the facts.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Stendhal"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stendhal/i-will-never-demean-myself-to-speak-about-my-courage-said-julien/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "1830"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stendhal/i-will-never-demean-myself-to-speak-about-my-courage-said-julien/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/73f/stendhal-1379_1830_i-will-never-demean-myself-to-speak-abou_265924.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/73f/stendhal-1379_1830_i-will-never-demean-myself-to-speak-abou_265924.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/73f/stendhal-1379_1830_i-will-never-demean-myself-to-speak-abou_265924.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“I will never demean myself to speak about my courage,\" said Julien, coldly, \"it would be mean to do so. Let…” — Stendhal",
                "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": "Stendhal",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stendhal/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“I will never demean myself to...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stendhal/i-will-never-demean-myself-to-speak-about-my-courage-said-julien/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stendhal/i-will-never-demean-myself-to-speak-about-my-courage-said-julien/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
