There is not much to choose between men. They are all a hotchpotch of greatness and littleness, of virtue and vice, of nobility and baseness. Some have more strength of character, or more opportunity, and so in one direction or another give their instincts freer play, but potentially they are the same. For my part, I do not think I am any better or any worse than most people, but I know that if I set down every action in my life and every thought that has crossed my mind, the world would consider me a monster of depravity. The knowledge that these reveries are common to all men should inspire one with tolerance to oneself as well as to others. It is well also if they enable us to look upon our fellows, even the most eminent and respectable, with humor, and if they lead us to take ourselves not too seriously.

　　人和人之間沒什么大的差別。他們皆是偉大與渺小，善良與邪惡，高尚與低俗的混合體。有的人性格比較堅毅，機會也比較多，因而達個或那個方面，能夠更自由地發揮自己的稟賦，但是人類的潛能卻都是相同的。至于我自己，我認為自己并不比大多數人更好或者更差，但是我知道，假如我記下我生命中每一次舉動和每一個掠過我腦海的想法的話，世界就會將我視為一個邪惡的怪物。每個人都會有這樣的怪念頭，這樣的認識應當能夠啟發我們寬容自己，也寬容他人。同時，假如因此我們得以用幽默的態度看待他人，即使是天下最優秀最令人尊敬的人，而且假如我們也因此不把自己看得過于重要，那是很有裨益的。