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.

Of praise a mere glutton, he swallow'd what came,
And the puff a dunce, he mistook it for fame;
read more

Of praise a mere glutton, he swallow'd what came,
And the puff a dunce, he mistook it for fame;
Till his relish grown callous, almost to displease,
Who pepper'd the highest was surest to please.

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

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

It has been well said that "the arch-flatterer with whom all the
petty flatterers have intelligence is a man's read more

It has been well said that "the arch-flatterer with whom all the
petty flatterers have intelligence is a man's self."

I once had a rose named after me and I was very flattered. But I was not pleased to read read more

I once had a rose named after me and I was very flattered. But I was not pleased to read the description in the catalogue: no good in a bed, but fine up against a wall.

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

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

Let us be thankful for the fools; but for them the rest of us could not succeed.

Let us be thankful for the fools; but for them the rest of us could not succeed.

The best way to convince a fool that he is wrong is to let him have his own way.

The best way to convince a fool that he is wrong is to let him have his own way.

By flatterers besieged
And so obliging that he ne'er obliged.

By flatterers besieged
And so obliging that he ne'er obliged.