What really flatters a man is that you think him worth
flattering.

What really flatters a man is that you think him worth
flattering.

It is easy to flatter; it is harder to praise.

It is easy to flatter; it is harder to praise.

O that men's ears should be
To counsel deaf but not to flattery!

O that men's ears should be
To counsel deaf but not to flattery!

The skilful class of flatterers praise the discourse of an
ignorant friend and the face of a deformed one.
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The skilful class of flatterers praise the discourse of an
ignorant friend and the face of a deformed one.
[Lat., Adulandi gens prudentissima laudat
Sermonem indocti, faciem deformis amici.]

If he be so resolved,
I can o'ersway him; for he loves to hear
That unicorns may read more

If he be so resolved,
I can o'ersway him; for he loves to hear
That unicorns may be betrayed with trees
And bears with glasses, elephants with holes,
Lions with toils, and men with flatterers,
He says he does, being then most flattered.

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.

Flattery was formerly a vice; it has now become the fashion.
[Lat., Pessimum genus inimicorum laudantes.]

Flattery was formerly a vice; it has now become the fashion.
[Lat., Pessimum genus inimicorum laudantes.]

When Fortune flatters, she does it to betray.

When Fortune flatters, she does it to betray.

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.