"Praise is a more ingenious, concealed, and..." - Quote by Francois De La Rochefoucauld
Praise is a more ingenious, concealed, and subtle kind of flattery, that satisfies both the giver and the receiver, though by verydifferent ways. The one accepts it as a reward due to his merit; the other gives it that he may be looked upon as a just and discerning person.
More by Francois De La Rochefoucauld
“On why I don't trust democracy without extremely powerful systems of accountability and recall What seems to be generosity is often only disguised ambition - which despises small interests to gain great ones.”
“We should gain more by letting the world see what we are than by trying to seem what we are not.”
“Youth is a continual intoxication; it is the fever of reason.”
More on Praise
“What praise is more valuable than the praise of an intelligent servant?”
“O my Bergson, you are a magician, and your book is a marvel, a real wonder in the history of philosophy . . . In finishing it I found . . . such a flavor of persistent euphony, as of a rich river that never foamed or ran thin, but steadily and firmly proceeded with its banks full to the brim.”
“Wise people prefer to benefit from constructive criticism rather than be ruined by false praise”
More on Flattery
“Lay not that flattering unction to your soul, That not your trespass but my madness speaks.”
“The customer is the immediate jewel of our souls. Him we flatter, him we feast, compliment, vote for, and will not contradict.”
“Should the poor be flattered? No; let the candied tongue lick absurd pomp, and crook the pregnant hinges of the knee where thrift may follow fawning.”