To be great, be whole.
Genuine
Yes. In Odes (1924), Ricardo Reis, ode beginning “Para ser grande, sê inteiro”, all six lines; dated 14 February 1933, said by Ricardo Reis. These are the character’s words, not a statement in Pessoa’s own voice.
Found word for word by program in the Portuguese original.
The English is our own translation, not yet reviewed: there is no public-domain translation of this text in our sources.
The wording people share comes from another translation than ours.
- Work
- Odes, 1924
- Where
- Ricardo Reis, ode beginning “Para ser grande, sê inteiro”, all six lines; dated 14 February 1933
- Found at
- Paragraph 1 of the Portuguese text
- Translation
- Our own, not yet reviewed (no public-domain translation in our sources)
Researched by AI; checked by program against the full text on 31 October 2026. Editorial review: pending. How we check
On the page
Para ser grande, sê inteiro: nada
Teu exagera ou exclui.12
Sê todo em cada coisa. Põe quanto és
No mínimo que fazes.
Assim em cada lago a lua toda
Brilha, porque alta vive.
To be great, be whole: exaggerate or exclude nothing of yours. Be all of yourself in each thing. Put all that you are into the smallest thing you do. Thus the whole moon shines in every lake, because it lives on high.
The scene
Ricardo Reis, one of Pessoa’s heteronyms, addresses an unnamed reader in a six-line ode. The opening commands ask for integrity rather than an exaggerated or diminished self. The last two lines compare this wholeness to the moon, which is reflected entire in each lake.
What it means
Greatness consists in bringing the whole self to even a small action, not in making every action large or conspicuous.
Often misread
Often used simply as a productivity slogan. The poem also warns against exaggerating or excluding parts of oneself, and its voice is Ricardo Reis’s, not an unqualified statement of all Pessoa’s personae.
Topics
Related quotes
- Dig within. Within is the wellspring of good; and it will ever bubble up, if you will ever dig. (paraphrase) Marcus Aurelius
- Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. (misattributed) Mark Twain
- History, despite its wrenching pain Cannot be unlived, but if faced With courage, need not be lived again. Maya Angelou
- Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore. (paraphrase) André Gide
- You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. Dr. Seuss
Sources
Cite it
Fernando Pessoa, Odes (1924), Ricardo Reis, ode beginning “Para ser grande, sê inteiro”, all six lines; dated 14 February 1933, our own translation. Spoken by Ricardo Reis. Checked at Quotogeny, https://quotogeny.com/q/to-be-great-be-whole/ (31 October 2026).
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Checked by people
People who checked this entry against its source, under their own names. Their checks do not change the verdict: an editor reviews every entry.
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