View the whole scene, with critic judgment scan,
And then deny him merit if you can.
Where read more

View the whole scene, with critic judgment scan,
And then deny him merit if you can.
Where he falls short, 'tis Nature's fault alone
Where he succeeds, the merit's all his own.

Charm strikes the sight, but merit wins the soul.

Charm strikes the sight, but merit wins the soul.

There is merit without elevation, but there is no elevation
without some merit.
[Fr., Il y a du read more

There is merit without elevation, but there is no elevation
without some merit.
[Fr., Il y a du merite sans elevation mais il n'y a point
d'elevation sans quelque merite.]

He who sows the ground with care and diligence acquires a greater stock of religious merit than he could gain read more

He who sows the ground with care and diligence acquires a greater stock of religious merit than he could gain by the repetition of ten thousand prayers

Contemporaries appreciate the man rather than his merit; posterity will regard the merit rather than the man.

Contemporaries appreciate the man rather than his merit; posterity will regard the merit rather than the man.

It sounds like stories from the land of spirits,
If any man obtain that which he merits,
read more

It sounds like stories from the land of spirits,
If any man obtain that which he merits,
Or any merit that which he obtains.

The world more often rewards the appearances of merit than merit itself.

The world more often rewards the appearances of merit than merit itself.

The same principle leads us to neglect a man of merit that
induces us to admire a fool.
read more

The same principle leads us to neglect a man of merit that
induces us to admire a fool.
[Fr., Du meme fonds dont on neglige un homme de merite l'on sait
encore admirer un sot.]

For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,
Th' oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely
read more

For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,
Th' oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely
The pangs of despised love, the law's delay,
The insolence of office, and the spurns
That patient merit of th' unworthy takes,
When he himself might his quietus make
With a bare bodkin?