The moderation of great men only sets a limit to their vices. The moderation of weak men is mediocrity.

[La modération des grands hommes ne borne que leurs vices. La modération des faibles est médiocrité.]

Luc de Clapiers, Marquis de Vauvenargues (1715-1747) French moralist, essayist, soldier

Reflections and Maxims [Réflexions et maximes] (1746) [tr. Lee (1903)]