Nay, do not think I flatter.
For what advancement may I hope from thee,
That no revenue read more

Nay, do not think I flatter.
For what advancement may I hope from thee,
That no revenue hast but thy good spirits
To feed and clothe thee? Why should the poor be flattered?
No, let the candied tongue like absurd pomp,
And crook the pregnant hinges of the knee
Where thrift may follow fawning.

Flattery is like friendship in show, but not in fruit

Flattery is like friendship in show, but not in fruit

To be a man's own fool is bad enough; but the vain man is everybody's.

To be a man's own fool is bad enough; but the vain man is everybody's.

Nature has hardly formed a woman ugly enough to be insensible to flattery upon her person.

Nature has hardly formed a woman ugly enough to be insensible to flattery upon her person.

We sometimes think that we hate flattery, but we only hate the
manner in which it is done.
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We sometimes think that we hate flattery, but we only hate the
manner in which it is done.
[Fr., On croit quelquefoir hair la flatterie; maid on ne hait que
a maniere de flatter.]

It is easy to flatter; it is harder to praise.

It is easy to flatter; it is harder to praise.

Gallantry of mind consists in saying flattering things in an
agreeable manner.

Gallantry of mind consists in saying flattering things in an
agreeable manner.

Flattery is like cologne water, to be smelt of, not swallowed

Flattery is like cologne water, to be smelt of, not swallowed

Flattery is the worst and falsest way of showing our esteem

Flattery is the worst and falsest way of showing our esteem