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Flattery Quotes by Samuel Johnson
- It is necessary to the success of flattery, that it be accommodated to particular circumstances or characters, and enter the heart on that side where…
- Flattery pleases very generally. In the first place, the flatterer may think what he says to be true; but, in the second place, whether he…
- What signifies protesting so against flattery when a person speaks well of one, it must either be true or false, you know if true, let…
- Just praise is only a debt, but flattery is a present.
- No wonder, Sir, that he is vain; a man who is perpetually flattered in every mode that can be conceived. So many bellows have blown…
- Solitude is the surest nurse of all prurient passions, and a girl in the hurry of preparation, or tumult of gaiety, has neither inclination nor…
- You think I love flattery (says Dr. Johnson), and so I do; but a little too much always disgusts me: that fellow Richardson, on the…
- Pope had been flattered till he thought himself one of the moving powers of the system of life. When he talked of laying down his…
- To be flattered is grateful, even when we know that our praises are not believed by those who pronounce them; for they prove, at least,…
- But, perhaps, the flatterer is not often detected; for an honest mind is not apt to suspect, and no one exerts the power of discernment…
- In order that all men may be taught to speak truth, it is necessary that all likewise should learn to hear it; for no species…
- It is scarcely credible to what degree discernment may be dazzled by the mist of pride, and wisdom infatuated by the intoxication of flattery.
- Just praise is only a debt, but flattery is a present. The acknowledgment of those virtues on which conscience congratulates us is a tribute that…
- The mischief of flattery is, not that it persuades any man that he is what he is not, but that it suppresses the influence of…
- Men who stand in the highest ranks of society seldom hear of their faults; if by any accident an opprobrious clamour reaches their ears, flattery…
- Few men survey themselves with so much severity as not to admit prejudices in their own favour, which an artful flatterer may gradually strengthen, till…
- Madam, before you flatter a man so grossly to his face, you should consider whether or not your flattery is worth his having.
- He who praises everybody, praises nobody.
More Flattery Quotes
- Flattery and deceit are the darlings of great men, and so with these men spread the butter on thick, if you want… — Pietro Aretino
- A desire to be observed, considered, esteemed, praised, beloved, and admired by his fellows is one of the earliest as well as… — John Adams
- But, perhaps, the flatterer is not often detected; for an honest mind is not apt to suspect, and no one exerts the… — Samuel Johnson
- The man that lays his hand upon a woman, Save in the way of kindness, is a wretch Whom't were gross flattery… — John M. Tobin, Jr.
- Some indeed there are who profess to despise all flattery, but even these are nevertheless to be flattered, by being told that… — Charles Caleb Colton
- It is only imperfection that complains of what is imperfect. The more perfect we are the more gentle and quiet we become… — Joseph Addison
- The flattery of posterity is not worth much more than contemporary flattery, which is worth nothing. — Jorge Luis Borges
- We should keep silent about those in power; to speak well of them almost implies flattery; to speak ill of them while… — Jean de la Bruyere