True merit, like a river, the deeper it is, the less noise it makes.

True merit, like a river, the deeper it is, the less noise it makes.

Thy father's merit sets thee up to view,
And shows thee in the fairest point of light,
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Thy father's merit sets thee up to view,
And shows thee in the fairest point of light,
To make thy virtues, or thy faults, conspicuous.

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 world rewards the appearance of merit oftener than merit
itself.
[Fr., Le monde recompense plus souvent les read more

The world rewards the appearance of merit oftener than merit
itself.
[Fr., Le monde recompense plus souvent les apparences de merite
que le merite meme.]

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.

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.

Charm strikes the sight, but merit wins the soul.

Charm strikes the sight, but merit wins the soul.

By merit raised
To that bad eminence.

By merit raised
To that bad eminence.

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.]