My dear dear lord,
The purest treasure mortal times afford
Is spotless reputation. That away,
read more

My dear dear lord,
The purest treasure mortal times afford
Is spotless reputation. That away,
Man are but gilded loam or painted clay.

Reputation is rarely proportioned to virtue.

Reputation is rarely proportioned to virtue.

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.

The way to gain a good reputation is to endeavor to be what you desire to appear.

The way to gain a good reputation is to endeavor to be what you desire to appear.

No book was ever written down by any but itself.

No book was ever written down by any but itself.

He merits no thanks who does a kindness for his own ends

He merits no thanks who does a kindness for his own ends

The world rewards the appearance of merit oftener than merit
itself.
[Fr., Le monde recompense plus souvent les read more

The world rewards the appearance of merit oftener than merit
itself.
[Fr., Le monde recompense plus souvent les apparences de merite
que le merite meme.]

To disregard what the world thinks of us is not only arrogant but
utterly shameless.
[Lat., Negligere quid read more

To disregard what the world thinks of us is not only arrogant but
utterly shameless.
[Lat., Negligere quid de se quisque sentiat, non solum arrogantis
est, sed etiam omnino dissoluti.]

My reputation grows with every failure.

My reputation grows with every failure.