Nay, do not think I flatter.
For what advancement may I hope from thee,
That no revenue read more

Nay, do not think I flatter.
For what advancement may I hope from thee,
That no revenue hast but thy good spirits
To feed and clothe thee? Why should the poor be flattered?
No, let the candied tongue like absurd pomp,
And crook the pregnant hinges of the knee
Where thrift may follow fawning.

Just praise is only a debt, but flattery is a present.

Just praise is only a debt, but flattery is a present.

No adulation; 'tis the death of virtue;
Who flatters, is of all mankind the lowest
Save he read more

No adulation; 'tis the death of virtue;
Who flatters, is of all mankind the lowest
Save he who courts the flattery.

By God, I cannot flatter, I do defy
The tongues of soothers! but a braver place
In read more

By God, I cannot flatter, I do defy
The tongues of soothers! but a braver place
In my heart's love hath no man than yourself.
Nay, task me to my word; approve me, lord.

Imitation is the sincerest of flattery.

Imitation is the sincerest of flattery.

They who delight to be flattered, pay for their folly by a late
repentance.
[Lat., Qu se laudari read more

They who delight to be flattered, pay for their folly by a late
repentance.
[Lat., Qu se laudari gaudent verbis subdolis,
Sera dant peonas turpes poenitentia.]

To be a man's own fool is bad enough; but the vain man is everybody's.

To be a man's own fool is bad enough; but the vain man is everybody's.

'Tis an old maxim in the schools,
That flattery's the food of fools;
Yet now and then read more

'Tis an old maxim in the schools,
That flattery's the food of fools;
Yet now and then your men of wit
Will condescend to take a bit.

I can spot empty flattery and know exactly where I stand. In the end it's really only my own approval read more

I can spot empty flattery and know exactly where I stand. In the end it's really only my own approval or disapproval that means anything.