I have offended reputation,
A most unnoble swerving. [ William Shakespeare ]
Convey a libel in a frown.
And wink a reputation down! [ Swift ]
I see my reputation is at stake:
My fame is shrewdly gored. [ William Shakespeare ]
The honor of a maid is her name. [ William Shakespeare ]
Faithfully guard your reputation. [ Rothschild ]
A good reputation is a fair estate. [ Proverb ]
A lost good name is never retrieved [ Gay ]
O reputation! dearer far than life. [ Lowell ]
A successful man loses no reputation. [ Proverb ]
A great reputation is a great charge. [ Proverb ]
O, I have lost my reputation!
I have lost the immortal part of myself
And what remains is bestial. [ Shakespeare ]
Thy credit wary keep, 'tis quickly gone;
Being got by many actions, lost by one. [ Randolph ]
But he that filches from me my good name
Robs me of that which not enriches him
And makes me poor indeed. [ Shakespeare ]
The purest treasure mortal times afford
Is spotless reputation; that away,
Men are but gilded loam or painted clay. [ Rich. II ]
A good name is better than bags of gold. [ Cervantes ]
Reputation cracked is a Venice-glass broke. [ Proverb ]
Reputation is commonly measured by the acre. [ Proverb ]
I would rather make my name than inherit it. [ Thackeray ]
A good name is better than precious ointment. [ Bible ]
In various talk the instructive hours they past,
Who gave the ball, or paid the visit lasts
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. [ Pope ]
O, reputation! dearer far than life.
Thou precious balsam, lovely, sweet of smell.
Whose cordial drops once spilt by some rash hand,
Not all the owner's care, nor the repenting toil
Of the rude spiller, ever can collect
To its first purity and native sweetness. [ Sewell ]
For a strolling damsel a doubtful reputation bears. [ Goethe ]
He that regards not his reputation despises virtue. [ Proverb ]
No ruins are so irreparable as those of reputation. [ Proverb ]
An eminent reputation is as dangerous as a bad one. [ Tacitus ]
Gain at the expense of reputation is manifest loss. [ Publius Syrus ]
Character lives in a man, reputation outside of him. [ J. G. Holland, Pseudonym: Timothy Titcomb ]
Good name in man and woman, dear my lord,
Is the immediate jewel of their souls;
Who steals my purse steals trash;
'Tis something, nothing;
'Twas mine, 'tis his, and has been slave to thousands;
But he that filches from me my good name,
Robs me of that which not enriches him,
And makes me poor indeed. [ William Shakespeare ]
The Alphabet Of Success
Attend carefully to details.
Be prompt in all things.
Consider well, then decide positively.
Dare to do right, fear to do wrong.
Endure trials patiently.
Fight life's battles bravely.
Go not into the society of the vicious.
Hold your integrity sacred.
Injure not another's reputation.
Join hands only with the virtuous.
Keep your mind free from evil thoughts.
Lie not for any consideration.
Make few special acquaintances.
Never try to appear what you are not.
Observe good manners.
Pay your debts promptly.
Question not the verity of a friend.
Respect the desires of your parents.
Sacrifice money rather than principle.
Touch not, taste not, handle not intoxicating drinks.
Use your leisure for improvement.
Venture not upon the threshold of wrong.
Watch carefully over your passions.
Xtend to everyone a kindly greeting.
Yield not to discouragement.
Zealously labor for the right, and success is certain. [ Ladies Home Journal ]
Reputation serves to virtue, as light does to a picture. [ Proverb ]
No man was ever written out of reputation but by himself. [ Monk ]
Reputation depends less upon ourselves than upon fortune. [ Proverb ]
It is the opinion of men that makes the reputation of women. [ Ninon de Lenclos ]
Men take less care of their conscience than their reputation. [ Proverb ]
There is no reputation so clear but a slanderer may stain it. [ Proverb ]
Reputation is often got without merit, and lost without crime. [ Proverb ]
Skilful pilots gain their reputation from storms and tempests. [ Epicurus ]
The virtue of women is often the love of reputation and quiet. [ La Rochefoucauld ]
How many worthy men have we seen survive their own reputation! [ Montaigne ]
The loss of reputation is greater than can be possibly estimated. [ Livy ]
Good name in man and woman is the immediate jewel of their souls. [ William Shakespeare ]
Men's evil manners live in brass; their virtues we write in water. [ Shakespeare ]
Good-will, like a good name, is got by many actions, and lost by one. [ Jeffrey ]
Time never fails to bring every exalted reputation to a strict scrutiny. [ Fisher Ames ]
I would thou and I knew where a commodity of good names were to be bought. [ William Shakespeare ]
You have lost no reputation at all unless you repute yourself such a loser. [ William Shakespeare ]
It is the duty of every one to strive to gain and deserve a good reputation. [ Atterbury ]
He that is proud of his fine clothes, fetches his reputation from his tailor. [ Proverb ]
The world knows the worst of me, and I can say that I am better than my fame. [ Schiller ]
The blaze of reputation cannot be blown out, but it often dies in the socket. [ Dr. Johnson ]
How many people live on the reputation of the reputation they might have made! [ Holmes ]
The only happy author in this world fs he who is below the care of reputation. [ Washington Irving ]
He that is respectless in his courses oft sells his reputation at cheap market. [ Ben Jonson ]
How difficult it is to save the bark of reputation from the rocks of ignorance. [ Petrarch ]
In all the affairs of this world, so much reputation is in reality so much power. [ Tillotson ]
The tenure of a literary reputation is the most uncertain and fluctuating of all. [ Charles Dudley Warner ]
Next to a good conscience, a clear reputation is the clearest thing in the world. [ Proverb ]
The way to gain a good reputation, is to endeavor to be what you desire to appear. [ Socrates ]
It is a maxim with me that no man was ever written out of reputation but by himself. [ Monk ]
A man's reputation draws eyes upon him that will narrowly inspect every part of him. [ Addison ]
I believe that a man may write himself out of reputation when nobody else can do it. [ Thomas Paine ]
Reputation, like beavers and cloaks, shall last some people twice the time of others. [ Douglas Jerrold ]
Reputation is what men and women think of us; character is what God and angels know of us. [ Thomas Paine ]
One may be better than his reputation or his conduct, but never better than his principles. [ Latena ]
One can survive everything except Death, and live down everything except a good reputation. [ Oscar Wilde, A Woman of No Importance ]
Never get a reputation for a small perfection if you are trying for fame in a loftier area. [ Edward Bulwer-Lytton ]
Some men's reputation seems like seed-wheat, which thrives best when brought from a distance. [ Whately ]
It is easier for a woman to defend her virtue against men, than her reputation against women. [ Rochebrune ]
How many books there are whose reputation is made that would not obtain it were it now to make! [ Joubert ]
My name and memory I leave to men's charitable speeches, to foreign nations, and to the next age. [ Bacon ]
Whatever disgrace we have merited, it is almost always in our power to reestablish our reputation. [ Rochefoucauld ]
Reputation is an idle and most false imposition: oft got without merit, and lost without deserving. [ William Shakespeare ]
You will as often find a great man above, as below, his reputation, when once you come to know him. [ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe ]
With an evening coat and a white tie, even a stock broker can gain a reputation for being civilized. [ Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Grey ]
A reputation for good judgment, for fair dealing, for truth, and for rectitude, is itself a fortune. [ Henry Ward Beecher ]
I consider him of no account who esteems himself just as the popular breath may chance to raise him. [ Goethe ]
The dark grave, which knows all secrets, can alone reclaim the fatal doubt once cast on a woman's name. [ George Herbert ]
A just person knows how to secure his own reputation without blemishing another's by exposing his faults. [ Quesnel ]
The art of putting well into play mediocre qualities often begets more reputation than true merit achieves. [ Rochefoucauld ]
Say nothing good of yourself, you will be distrusted; say nothing bad of yourself, you will be taken at your word. [ Joseph Roux ]
Open your mouth and purse cautiously, and your stock of wealth and reputation shall, at least in repute, be great. [ Zimmermann ]
Reputation is a jewel which nothing can replace; it is ten thousand times more valuable capital than your diamonds. [ Laboulaye ]
Die two months ago, and not forgotten yet? Then there's hope a great man's memory may outlive his life half a year. [ William Shakespeare ]
Associate with men of good quality, if you esteem your own reputation; for it is better to be alone than in bad company. [ George Washington ]
The art of using moderate abilities to advantage wins praise, and often acquires more reputation than actual brilliancy. [ La Rochefoucauld ]
The reputation of a man is like his shadow, - gigantic when it precedes him, and pygmy in its proportions when it follows. [ Talleyrand ]
The greater the difficulty the more glory in surmounting it. Skilful pilots gain their reputation from storms and tempests. [ Epicurus ]
It is a wretched thing to lean on the reputation of others, lest the pillars being withdrawn the roof should fall in ruins. [ Juvenal ]
Reputation is but a synonyme of popularity: dependent on suffrage, to be increased or diminished at the will of the voters. [ Mrs. Jameson ]
A man's reputation is not in his own keeping, but lies at the mercy of the profligacy of others. Calumny requires no proof. [ Hazlitt ]
Of all human actions, pride seldomest obtains its end; for, aiming at honor and reputation, it reaps contempt and derision. [ Walker ]
The art of being able to make a good use of moderate abilities wins esteem and often confers more reputation than real merit. [ La Bruyere ]
There are few persons of greater worth than their reputation; but how many are there whose worth is far short of their reputation! [ Stanislaus ]
He that claims, either in himself or for another, the honours of perfection will surely injure the reputation which he designs to assist. [ Johnson ]
Many a wretch has rid on a hurdle who has done less mischief than utterers of forged tales, coiners of scandal, and clippers of reputation. [ Sheridan ]
To have the reputation of possessing the most perfect social tact, talk to every woman as if you loved her, and to every man as if he bored you. [ Oscar Wilde, A Woman of No Importance ]
An honorable name or a good reputation is an excellent protection against wrong-doing: we fear to compromise it more through vanity than virtue.
When a man has once forfeited the reputation of his integrity, he is set fast; and nothing will then serve his turn, neither truth nor falsehood. [ Tillotson ]
I am resolved to grow fat and look young till forty, and then slip out of the world with the first wrinkle and the reputation of five and twenty. [ Dryden ]
The reputation of a woman may also be compared to a mirror of crystal, shining and bright, but liable to be sullied by every breath that comes near it. [ Cervantes ]
A good name is like precious ointment; it filleth all round about, and will not easily away; for the odors of ointments are more durable than those of flowers. [ Bacon ]
The reputation of a man is like his shadow: It sometimes follows and sometimes precedes him, it is sometimes longer and sometimes shorter than his natural size. [ French Proverb ]
The man abandoned by his friends, one after another, without just cause, will acquire the reputation of being hard to please, changeable, ungrateful, unsociable. [ Joseph Roux ]
The two chief things that give a man reputation in counsel, are the opinion of his honesty, and the opinion of his wisdom; the authority of those two will persuade. [ Ben Jonson ]
No man's credit can fall so low but that, if he bear his shame as he should do, and profit by it as he ought to do, it is in his own power to redeem his reputation. [ Lord Nottingham ]
Reputation is in itself only a farthing-candle, of wavering and uncertain flame, and easily blown out, but it is the light by which the world looks for and finds merit. [ Lowell ]
Speak with contempt of no man. Every one hath a tender sense of reputation. And every man hath a sting, which he may, if provoked too far, dart out at one time or other. [ Burton ]
Reputation is rarely proportioned, to virtue. We have seen a thousand people esteemed, either for the merit, they had not yet attained or for that they no longer possessed. [ St. Evremond ]
Nothing so uncertain as general reputation. A man injures me from humor, passion, or interest; hates me because he has injured me; and speaks ill of me because he hates me. [ Henry Home ]
Had he unjustly fallen, your name had then been stained to latest times with foul reproach; and what more dreadful, more to be abhorred, than to be known with infamy forever? [ Paterson ]
The coquette compromises her reputation, and sometimes saves her virtue: the prude, on the contrary, often sacrifices her honor in secret, and preserves it in public opinion. [ Mme. du Socage ]
Although the devil be the father of lies, he seems, like other great inventors, to have lost much of his reputation by the continual improvements that have been made upon him. [ Swift ]
Garments that have once one rent in them are subject to be torn on every nail, and glasses that are once cracked are soon broken; such is man's good name once tainted with just reproach. [ Bishop Hall ]
Who is it that does not voluntarily exchange his health, his repose, and his very life for reputation and glory? The most useless, frivolous, and false coin that passes current among us. [ Montaigne ]
It is the penalty of fame that a man must ever keep rising. Get a reputation and then go to bed,
is the absurdest of all maxims. Keep up a reputation or go to bed,
would be nearer the truth. [ Chapin ]
Who confers reputation? who gives respect and veneration to persons, to books, to great men? Who but Opinion? How utterly insufficient are all the riches of the world without her approbation! [ Pascal ]
A good name is properly that reputation of virtue that every man may challenge as his right and due in the opinions of others, till he has made forfeit of it by the viciousness of his actions. [ South ]
A fair reputation is a plant, delicate in its nature, and by no means rapid in its growth. It will not shoot up in a night like the gourd of the prophet; but, like that gourd, it may perish in a night. [ Jeremy Taylor ]
It is more reasonable to wish for reputation while it may be enjoyed, as Anacreon calls upon his companions to give him for present use the wine and garlands which they propose to bestow upon his tomb. [ Dr. Johnson ]
He that tears away a man's good name tears his flesh from his bones, and, by letting him live, gives him only a cruel opportunity of feeling his misery, of burying his better part, and surviving himself [ South ]
The two most precious things on this side 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. [ Colton ]
There are two modes of establishing our reputation - to be praised by honest men, and to be abused by rogues. It is best, however, to secure the former, because it will be invariably accompanied by the latter. [ Colton ]
There are two ways of establishing your reputation, - to be praised by honest men, and to be abused by rogues. It is best, however, to secure the former, because it will be invariably accompanied by the latter. [ Colton ]
Gallantry, though a fashionable crime, is a very detestable one; and the wretch who pilfers from us in the hour of distress is an innocent character compared to the plunderer who wantonly robs us of happiness and reputation. [ Rev. H. Kelley ]
The great difficulty is first to win a reputation; the next to keep it while you live; and the next to preserve it after you die, when affection and interest are over, and nothing but sterling excellence can preserve your name. [ B. R. Haydon ]
An honest reputation is within the reach of all men; they obtain it by social virtues, and by doing their duty. This kind of reputation, it is true, is neither brilliant nor startling, but it is often the most useful for happiness. [ Duclos ]
Atheism leaves a man to sense, to philosophy, to natural piety, to laws, to reputation, all which may be guides to an outward moral virtue, though religion were not; but superstition dismounts all these, and erecteth an absolute monarchy in the minds of men. [ Bacon ]
High original genius is always ridiculed on its first appearance; most of all by those who have won themselves the highest reputation in working on the established lines. Genius only commands recognition when it has created the taste which is to appreciate it. [ Froude ]
Local esteem is far more conducive to happiness than general reputation. The latter may be compared to the fixed stars which glimmer so remotely as to afford little light and no warmth. The former is like the sun, each day shedding his prolific and cheering beams. [ W. B. Clulow ]
Never to speak by superlatives is a sign of a wise man; for that way of speaking wounds either truth or prudence. Exaggerations are so many prostitutions of reputation; because they discover the weakness of understanding, and the bad discerning of him that speaks. [ J. Earle ]
There is nothing more necessary to establish reputation than to suspend the enjoyment of it. He that cannot bear the sense of merit with silence must of necessity destroy it; for fame being the genial mistress of mankind, whoever gives it to himself insults all to whom he relates any circumstance to his own advantage. [ Steele ]
We acquire the love of people who, being in our proximity, are presumed to know us; and we receive reputation or celebrity, from such as are not personally acquainted with us. Merit secures to us the regard of our honest neighbors, and good fortune that of the public. Esteem is the harvest of a whole life spent in usefulness; but reputation is often bestowed upon a chance action, and depends most on success. [ G. A. Sala ]
The reputation of generosity is to be purchased pretty cheap; it does not depend so much upon a man's general expense, as it does upon his giving handsomely where it is proper to give at all. A man, for instance, who should give a servant four shillings would pass for covetous, while he who gave him a crown would be reckoned generous; so that the difference of those two opposite characters turns upon one shilling. [ Chesterfield ]
Among the smaller duties of life, I hardly know any one more important than that of not praising where praise is not due. Reputation is one of the prizes for which men contend: it is, as Mr. Burke calls it, the cheap defense and ornament of nations.
It produces more labor and more talent than twice the wealth of a country could ever rear up. It is the coin of genius, and it is the imperious duty of every man to bestow it with the most scrupulous justice and the wisest economy. [ Sydney Smith ]
If a man were only to deal in the world for a day, and should never have occasion to converse more with mankind, never more need their good opinion or good word, it were then no great matter (speaking as to the concernments of this world), if a man spent his reputation all at once, and ventured it at one throw; but if he be to continue in the world, and would have the advantage of conversation while he is in it, let him make use of truth and sincerity in all his words and actions; for nothing but this will last and hold out to the end. [ Tillotson ]
No woman is a genius: women are a decorative sex. They never have anything to say, but they say it charmingly. They represent the triumph of matter over mind, just as men represent the triumph of mind over morals. There are only two kinds of women, the plain and the colored. The plain women are very useful. If you want to gain a reputation for respectability you have merely to take them down to supper. The other women are very charming. They commit one mistake, however. They paint in order to try to look young. Our grandmothers painted in order to try to talk brilliantly. Rouge and esprit used to go together. That has all gone out now. As long as a woman can look ten years younger than her own daughter she is perfectly satisfied. [ Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Grey ]