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Surely, sir,
There's in him stuff that puts him to these ends;
For, being not propped by read more
Surely, sir,
There's in him stuff that puts him to these ends;
For, being not propped by ancestry, whose grace
Chalks successors their way, nor called upon
For high feats done to th' crown, neither allied
To eminent assistants, but spiderlike
Out of his self-drawing web, 'a gives us note,
The force of his own merit makes his way,
A gift that heaven gives for him, which buys
A place next to the king.
There's a proud modesty in merit; averse from asking, and resolved to pay ten times the gifts it asks.
There's a proud modesty in merit; averse from asking, and resolved to pay ten times the gifts it asks.
By merit raised
To that bad eminence.
By merit raised
To that bad eminence.
The world more often rewards the appearances of merit than merit itself.
The world more often rewards the appearances of merit than merit itself.
Charm strikes the sight, but merit wins the soul.
Charm strikes the sight, but merit wins the soul.
For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,
Th' oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely
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For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,
Th' oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely
The pangs of despised love, the law's delay,
The insolence of office, and the spurns
That patient merit of th' unworthy takes,
When he himself might his quietus make
With a bare bodkin?
He merits no thanks who does a kindness for his own ends
He merits no thanks who does a kindness for his own ends
Contemporaries appreciate the man rather than his merit; posterity will regard the merit rather than the man.
Contemporaries appreciate the man rather than his merit; posterity will regard the merit rather than the man.
The favor of princes does not preclude the existence of merit,
and yet does not prove that it exists.
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The favor of princes does not preclude the existence of merit,
and yet does not prove that it exists.
[Fr., La faveur des princes n'exclut pas le merite, et ne le
suppose pas aussi.]
