In various talk th' instructive hours they past,
Who gave the ball, or paid the visit last;
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In various talk th' instructive hours they past,
Who gave the ball, or paid the visit last;
One speaks the glory of the British queen,
And one describes a charming Indian screen;
A third interprets motions, looks, and eyes;
At every word a reputation dies.

Reputation is rarely proportioned to virtue.

Reputation is rarely proportioned to virtue.

And reputation bleeds in ev'ry word.

And reputation bleeds in ev'ry word.

I consider him of no account who esteems himself just as the
popular breath may chance to raise him.
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I consider him of no account who esteems himself just as the
popular breath may chance to raise him.
[Ger., Ich halte nichts von dem, der von sich denkt
Wie ihn das Volk vielleicht erheben mochte.]

That man is thought a dangerous knave,
Or zealot plotting crime,
Who for advancement of his kind
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That man is thought a dangerous knave,
Or zealot plotting crime,
Who for advancement of his kind
Is wiser than his time.

Glass, china, and reputation are easily cracked, and never mended well.

Glass, china, and reputation are easily cracked, and never mended well.

Should envious tongues some malice frame; to soil and tarnish your good name; Live it Down!

Should envious tongues some malice frame; to soil and tarnish your good name; Live it Down!

Good will, like a good name, is got by many actions, and lost by one.

Good will, like a good name, is got by many actions, and lost by one.

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.]