Fools grow without watering.

Fools grow without watering.

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!

Knavery and flattery are blood relations.

Knavery and flattery are blood relations.

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.

Flattery is like cologne water, to be smelt of, not swallowed

Flattery is like cologne water, to be smelt of, not swallowed

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.

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.]

Flattery is like friendship in show, but not in fruit

Flattery is like friendship in show, but not in fruit

It is better to fall among crows than flatterers; for those devour only the dead--these the living.

It is better to fall among crows than flatterers; for those devour only the dead--these the living.