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.

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.

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.

It is generally much more shameful to lose a good reputation than never to have acquired it.

It is generally much more shameful to lose a good reputation than never to have acquired it.

When a door opens not to your knock, consider your reputation.

When a door opens not to your knock, consider your reputation.

Let no one honour me with tears, or bury me with lamentation.
Why? Because I fly hither and thither, read more

Let no one honour me with tears, or bury me with lamentation.
Why? Because I fly hither and thither, living in the mouths of
me.
[Lat., Nemo me lacrymis decoret, nec funera fletu.
Faxit cur? Volito vivu' per ora virum.]

And reputation bleeds in ev'ry word.

And reputation bleeds in ev'ry word.

The two most precious things this side of the grave are our reputation and our life. But it is to read more

The two most precious things this side of the grave are our reputation and our life. But it is to be lamented that the most contemptible whisper may deprive us of the one, and the weakest weapon of the other.

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.