"Idleness is fatal only to the mediocre."
— Albert Camus

"Everyone, either from modesty or egotism, hides away the best and most delicate of his soul’s possessions; to gain the esteem of others, we must only ever show our ugliest sides; this is how we keep ourselves on the common level"
— Gustave Flaubert (November)

"It's a disease. Nobody thinks or feels or cares any more; nobody gets excited or believes in anything except their own comfortable little God damn mediocrity."
— Richard Yates (Revolutionary Road)

"The only sin is mediocrity."
— Martha Graham

""my academic career was indifferent to the point of beauty- I was so unremarkable, in every way, that the unvarying precision of my mediocrity achieves a kind of loveliness""
— Mil Millington

"If any of you have a desire to be mediocre, you will probably find that you have already achieved your ambition."
— Hugh B. Brown

"Stupidity lies in wanting to draw conclusions."
— Gustave Flaubert

"I admit that I myself am far from having a complete command of every topic I touch on, but my knowledge of my subject is always greater than the interest or the understanding of my auditors. You see, there is one very good thing about mankind; the mediocre masses make very few demands of the mediocrities of a higher order, submitting stupidly and cheerfully to their guidance"
— Alfred de Vigny (Stello)

"You know you've reached a new plateau of group mediocrity when even a Canadian is alarmed by your lack of individuality."
— Sarah Vowell (Assassination Vacation)

"The highest level than can be reached by a mediocre but experienced mind is a talent for uncovering the weaknesses of those greater than itself."
— Georg Christoph Lichtenberg

"The most difficult thing to bear upon the Tantalus's wheel of mediocrity is a glimmer of happiness. "
— Parodites