Be thou the first true merit to befriend, his praise is lost who stays till all commend.

Alexander Pope (1688 - 1744)

There are two modes of establishing our reputation: to be praised by honest men, and to be abused by rogues¹. It is best, however, to secure the former, because it will invariably be accompanied by the latter.

Charles Caleb Colton (1780 - 1832)

Such praise coming from so degraded a source, was degrading to me, its recipient².

Cicero (106 BC - 43 BC)

He who praises you for what you lack wishes to take from you what you have.

Don Juan Manuel (1282 - 1349)

It is a sign of a creeping inner death when we no longer can praise the living.

Eric Hoffer (1902 - 1983)

The meanest, most contemptible³ kind of praise is that which first speaks well of a man, and then qualifies it with a "but".

Henry Ward⁴ Beecher (1813 - 1887)

Praise the young and they will flourish.

Irish Proverb

The praise that comes from love does not make us vain, but more humble⁵.

James M. Barrie (1860 - 1937)

You do ill if you praise, but worse if you censure⁶, what you do not understand.

Leonardo da Vinci (1452 - 1519)

We are always more anxious to be distinguished⁷ for a talent which we do not possess, than to be praised for the fifteen which we do possess.

Mark Twain (1835 - 1910), Mark Twain's Autobiography⁸

Don't discuss yourself, for you are bound to lose; if you belittle⁹ yourself, you are believed; if you praise yourself, you are disbelieved.

Michel de Montaigne (1533 - 1592)

Praise, like gold and diamonds, owes its value only to its scarcity¹⁰.

Samuel Johnson (1709 - 1784)

Be not too hasty either with praise or blame; speak always as though you were giving evidence before the judgement-seat of the Gods.

Seneca (5 BC - 65 AD)

You can tell the character of every man when you see how he receives praise.

Seneca (5 BC - 65 AD), Epistles

Praise from the common people is generally false, and rather follows the vain than the virtuous¹¹.

Sir Francis Bacon (1561 - 1626)

Real joy comes not from ease or riches or from the praise of men, but from doing something worthwhile.

Sir Wilfred Grenfell (1865 - 1940)

If a man is proud of his wealth, he should not be praised until it is known how he employs it.

Socrates (469 BC - 399 BC)

Think not those faithful who praise all thy words and actions; but those who kindly¹² reprove thy faults.

Socrates (469 BC - 399 BC)

Their silence is sufficient praise.

Terence (185 BC - 159 BC)

I do not confer praise or blame: I accept. I am the measure of all things. I am the centre of the world.

W. Somerset Maugham (1874 - 1965), 'Of Human Bondage¹³', 1915

People ask for criticism, but they only want praise.

W. Somerset Maugham (1874 - 1965), "Of Human Bondage", 1915

I pay no attention whatever to anybody's praise or blame. I simply follow my own feelings.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 - 1791)