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.
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By merit raised
To that bad eminence.
By merit raised
To that bad eminence.
Reputation is an idle and most false imposition; oft got without merit, and lost without deserving.
Reputation is an idle and most false imposition; oft got without merit, and lost without deserving.
It sounds like stories from the land of spirits,
If any man obtain that which he merits,
read more
It sounds like stories from the land of spirits,
If any man obtain that which he merits,
Or any merit that which he obtains.
The more merit, the less affection
The more merit, the less affection
True merit, like a river, the deeper it is, the less noise it makes.
True merit, like a river, the deeper it is, the less noise it makes.
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.]
Charm strikes the sight, but merit wins the soul.
Charm strikes the sight, but merit wins the soul.
View the whole scene, with critic judgment scan,
And then deny him merit if you can.
Where read more
View the whole scene, with critic judgment scan,
And then deny him merit if you can.
Where he falls short, 'tis Nature's fault alone
Where he succeeds, the merit's all his own.
