Beware
Of entrance to a quarrel; but being in,
Bear 't that the opposed may beware of thee.
Give every man thy ear, but few thy voice;
Take each man's censure, but reserve thy judgment.
Costly thy habit as thy purse can buy,
But not express'd in fancy; rich, not gaudy;
For the apparel oft proclaims the man.
Your name is great
In mouths of wisest censure.
Censure is the tax a man pays to the public for being eminent.
Praise from a friend, or censure from a foe,
Are lost on hearers that our merits know.
It was a custom with Apelles, to which he most tenaciously adhered, never to let any day pass, however busy he might be, without exercising himself by tracing some outline or other,--a practice which has now passed into a proverb. It was also a practice with him, when he had completed a work, to exhibit it to the view of the passers-by in his studio, while he himself, concealed behind the picture, would listen to the criticisms.... Under these circumstances, they say that he was censured by a shoemaker for having represented the shoes with one latchet too few. The next day, the shoemaker, quite proud at seeing the former error corrected, thanks to his advice, began to criticise the leg; upon which Apelles, full of indignation, popped his head out and reminded him that a shoemaker should give no opinion beyond the shoes, --a piece of advice which has equally passed into a proverbial saying.
A dozen direct censures are easier to bear than one morganatic compliment.
Correction does much, but encouragement does more. Encouragement after censure is as the sun after a shower.
A man's first care should be to avoid the reproaches of his own heart, his next to escape the censures of the world.
No might nor greatness in mortality Can censure 'scape; back-wounding calumny The whitest virtue strikes. What king so strong Can tie the gall up in the slanderous tongue?
It is folly for an eminent man to think of escaping censure, and a weakness to be affected with it. All the illustrious persons of antiquity, and indeed of every age in the world, have passed through this fiery persecution.
I find the pain of a little censure, even when it is unfounded, is more acute than the pleasure of much praise.
He who would acquire fame must not show himself afraid of censure. The dread of censure is the death of genius.
The censure of those who are opposed to us, is the highest commendation that can be given us.
Give every man your ear, but few thy voice. Take each man's censure, but reserve thy judgment.
Beware of one who flatters unduly; he will also censure unjustly.
He who would acquire fame must not show himself afraid of censure. The dread of censure is the death of genius.
Censure is the tax a man pays to the public for being eminent.
They have a right to censure that have a heart to help.
The readiest and surest way to get rid of censure, is to correct ourselves.
The censure of those who are opposed to us, is the highest commendation that can be given us.
I find that the pain of a little censure, even when it is unfounded, is more acute than the pleasure of much praise.
It is folly for an eminent man to think of escaping censure, and a weakness to be affected with it. All the illustrious persons of ;antiquity, and indeed of every age in the world, have passed through this fiery persecution.
A man must serve his time to every trade Save censure--critics all are ready made. Take hackney'd jokes from Miller, got by rote, With just enough of learning to misquote; A mind well skill'd to find or forge a fault; A turn for punning, call it Attic salt; To Jeffrey go, be silent and discreet, His pay is just ten sterling pounds per sheet; Fear not to lie, 'twill seem a lucky hit; Shrink not from blasphemy, 'twill pass for wit; Care not for feeling--pass your proper jest, And stand a critic, hated yet caress'd.
The press, the pulpit, and the stage, Conspire to censure and expose our age.
Give every man your ear, but few thy voice. Take each man's censure, but reserve thy judgment.