"To write the lives of the great in separating them from their works necessarily ends by above all stressing their pettiness, because it is in their work that they have put the best of themselves"

In this quote, thinker Simone Weil is highlighting the difficulty of precisely representing the lives of excellent people. She argues that when we focus solely on their achievements and separate them from their personal lives, we are bound to highlight their flaws and shortcomings. This is due to the fact that it is through their work that they have actually expressed the very best parts of themselves, and by isolating their work from their lives, we are entrusted a distorted and insufficient photo. Weil recommends that real achievement lies in the integration of one's individual and professional selves, and that we need to recognize and appreciate both aspects in order to totally comprehend and value the lives of the excellent.