Be thou the first true merit to befriend, his praise is lost who stays till all commend.
Alexander Pope (1688 - 1744)
There are two modes of establishing our reputation: to be praised by honest men, and to be abused by rogues1. It is best, however, to secure the former, because it will invariably be accompanied by the latter.
Charles Caleb Colton (1780 - 1832)
Such praise coming from so degraded a source, was degrading to me, its recipient2.
Cicero (106 BC - 43 BC)
He who praises you for what you lack wishes to take from you what you have.
Don Juan Manuel (1282 - 1349)
It is a sign of a creeping inner death when we no longer can praise the living.
Eric Hoffer (1902 - 1983)
The meanest, most contemptible3 kind of praise is that which first speaks well of a man, and then qualifies it with a "but".
Henry Ward4 Beecher (1813 - 1887)
Praise the young and they will flourish.
Irish Proverb
The praise that comes from love does not make us vain, but more humble5.
James M. Barrie (1860 - 1937)
You do ill if you praise, but worse if you censure6, what you do not understand.
Leonardo da Vinci (1452 - 1519)
We are always more anxious to be distinguished7 for a talent which we do not possess, than to be praised for the fifteen which we do possess.
Mark Twain (1835 - 1910), Mark Twain's Autobiography8
Don't discuss yourself, for you are bound to lose; if you belittle9 yourself, you are believed; if you praise yourself, you are disbelieved.
Michel de Montaigne (1533 - 1592)
Praise, like gold and diamonds, owes its value only to its scarcity10.
Samuel Johnson (1709 - 1784)
Be not too hasty either with praise or blame; speak always as though you were giving evidence before the judgement-seat of the Gods.
Seneca (5 BC - 65 AD)
You can tell the character of every man when you see how he receives praise.
Seneca (5 BC - 65 AD), Epistles
Praise from the common people is generally false, and rather follows the vain than the virtuous11.
Sir Francis Bacon (1561 - 1626)
Real joy comes not from ease or riches or from the praise of men, but from doing something worthwhile.
Sir Wilfred Grenfell (1865 - 1940)
If a man is proud of his wealth, he should not be praised until it is known how he employs it.
Socrates (469 BC - 399 BC)
Think not those faithful who praise all thy words and actions; but those who kindly12 reprove thy faults.
Socrates (469 BC - 399 BC)
Their silence is sufficient praise.
Terence (185 BC - 159 BC)
I do not confer praise or blame: I accept. I am the measure of all things. I am the centre of the world.
W. Somerset Maugham (1874 - 1965), 'Of Human Bondage13', 1915
People ask for criticism, but they only want praise.
W. Somerset Maugham (1874 - 1965), "Of Human Bondage", 1915
I pay no attention whatever to anybody's praise or blame. I simply follow my own feelings.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 - 1791)
