---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Unjust attacks on public men do them more…"
description: "\"Unjust attacks on public men do them more good than unmerited praise.\" — Rutherford B. Hayes"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b9/rutherford-b-hayes-3486_men_unjust-attacks-on-public-men-do-them-mor_311506.jpg"
---

#  Unjust attacks on public men do them more good than…

![“Unjust attacks on public men do them more good than unmerited praise.” quote by Rutherford B. Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b9/rutherford-b-hayes-3486_men_unjust-attacks-on-public-men-do-them-mor_311506.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b9/rutherford-b-hayes-3486_men_unjust-attacks-on-public-men-do-them-mor_311506.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b9/rutherford-b-hayes-3486_men_unjust-attacks-on-public-men-do-them-mor_311506.jpg)

> “Unjust attacks on public men do them more good than unmerited praise.”

[Rutherford B. Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutherford-b-hayes/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Public criticism can be more beneficial than praise because it forces accountability and growth.

**In simple terms:** Criticism can help more than praise.

Key Takeaway

Embrace constructive criticism.

Themes

accountability leadership public perception

Mood

reflective critical

Type

political motivational

When to use this quote

- political campaigns
- leadership development
- public relations

Key Concepts

political dynamics media influence

Questions to Reflect On

- How can criticism be delivered constructively?
- When is praise insufficient?

A Different Perspective

Praise may inflate ego without prompting improvement.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Praise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/praise/)

## Related quotes

> [Unmerited abuse wounds, while unmerited praise has not the power to heal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/unmerited-abuse-wounds-while-unmerited-praise-has-not-the-power-to/)

[Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/)

> [An ingenuous mind feels in unmerited praise the bitterest reproof. If you reject it you are unhappy, if you accept it you are undone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-savage-landor/an-ingenuous-mind-feels-in-unmerited-praise-the-bitterest-reproof-if/)

[Walter Savage Landor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-savage-landor/)

> [An ingenuous mind feels in unmerited praise the bitterest reproof.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-savage-landor/an-ingenuous-mind-feels-in-unmerited-praise-the-bitterest-reproof/)

[Walter Savage Landor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-savage-landor/)

> [An ingenious mind feels in unmerited praise the bitterest reproof.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-savage-landor/an-ingenious-mind-feels-in-unmerited-praise-the-bitterest-reproof/)

[Walter Savage Landor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-savage-landor/)

> [Our public men are speaking every day on something, but they ain't saying anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/our-public-men-are-speaking-every-day-on-something-but-they-ain-t/)

[Will Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/)

> [“It was a constant source of irritation to him that the public men on his side were, on the whole, not conspicuously better than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/it-was-a-constant-source-of-irritation-to-him-that-the-public-men-on/)

[George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/)

> [In Europe public men do resign. But here it's a lost art. You have to impeach 'em.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/in-europe-public-men-do-resign-but-here-it-s-a-lost-art-you-have-to/)

[Will Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/)

> [No one asks public men to be strictly moral, but they must seem to be well-behaved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/storm-jameson/no-one-asks-public-men-to-be-strictly-moral-but-they-must-seem-to-be/)

[Storm Jameson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/storm-jameson/)

> [The public cannot be too curious concerning the characters of public men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-adams/the-public-cannot-be-too-curious-concerning-the-characters-of-public/)

[Samuel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-adams/)

> [The most powerful men are not public men: a public man is responsible, and a responsible man is a slave. It is private life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/the-most-powerful-men-are-not-public-men-a-public-man-is-responsible/)

[Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/)

> [The men who have guided the destiny of the United States have found the strength for their tasks by going to their knees. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson/the-men-who-have-guided-the-destiny-of-the-united-states-have-found/)

[Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/)

> [Democracy is a word all public men use and none understand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/democracy-is-a-word-all-public-men-use-and-none-understand/)

[George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/)

> [In government offices which are sensitive to the vehemence and passion of mass sentiment public men have no sure tenure. They are in effect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-lippmann/in-government-offices-which-are-sensitive-to-the-vehemence-and/)

[Walter Lippmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-lippmann/)

> [The prevailin' weakness of most public men is to Slop Over!… G. Washington never slopt over.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/artemas-ward/the-prevailin-weakness-of-most-public-men-is-to-slop-over-g/)

[Artemas Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/artemas-ward/)

> [The men who administer public affairs must first of all see that everyone holds onto what is his, and that private men are never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/the-men-who-administer-public-affairs-must-first-of-all-see-that/)

[Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/)

## More by Rutherford B. Hayes

> [Nothing brings out the lower traits of human nature like office-seeking. Men of good character and impulses are betrayed by it into all sorts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutherford-b-hayes/nothing-brings-out-the-lower-traits-of-human-nature-like-office/)

[Rutherford B. Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutherford-b-hayes/)

> [No person connected with me by blood or marriage will be appointed to office.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutherford-b-hayes/no-person-connected-with-me-by-blood-or-marriage-will-be-appointed-to/)

[Rutherford B. Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutherford-b-hayes/)

> [The President of the United States should strive to be always mindful of the fact that he serves his party best who serves his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutherford-b-hayes/the-president-of-the-united-states-should-strive-to-be-always-mindful/)

[Rutherford B. Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutherford-b-hayes/)

> [The gloomy theology of the orthodox--the Calvinists--I do not, I cannot believe. Many of the notions--nay, most of the notions--which orthodox people have of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutherford-b-hayes/the-gloomy-theology-of-the-orthodox-the-calvinists-i-do-not-i-cannot/)

[Rutherford B. Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutherford-b-hayes/)

> [Every age has its temptations, its weaknesses, its dangers. Ours is in the line of the snobbish and the sordid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutherford-b-hayes/every-age-has-its-temptations-its-weaknesses-its-dangers-ours-is-in/)

[Rutherford B. Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutherford-b-hayes/)

> [Strikes and boycotting are akin to war, and can be justified only on grounds analogous to those which justify war, viz., intolerable injustice and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutherford-b-hayes/strikes-and-boycotting-are-akin-to-war-and-can-be-justified-only-on/)

[Rutherford B. Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutherford-b-hayes/)

> [The melancholy thing in our public life is the insane desire to get higher.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutherford-b-hayes/the-melancholy-thing-in-our-public-life-is-the-insane-desire-to-get/)

[Rutherford B. Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutherford-b-hayes/)

> [As friends go it is less important to live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutherford-b-hayes/as-friends-go-it-is-less-important-to-live/)

[Rutherford B. Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutherford-b-hayes/)

> [ My father and mother in 1817 were forty-nine days on the road with their emigrant wagons \[from Vermont\] to Ohio. More than two days… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutherford-b-hayes/my-father-and-mother-in-1817-were-forty-nine-days-on-the-road-with/)

[Rutherford B. Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutherford-b-hayes/)

> [Nobody ever left the presidency with less regret, less disappointment, fewer heart burnings, or any general content with the result of his term (in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutherford-b-hayes/nobody-ever-left-the-presidency-with-less-regret-less-disappointment/)

[Rutherford B. Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutherford-b-hayes/)

> [If a liberal policy towards the late Rebels is adopted, the ultra Republicans are opposed to it; if the colored people are honored, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutherford-b-hayes/if-a-liberal-policy-towards-the-late-rebels-is-adopted-the-ultra/)

[Rutherford B. Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutherford-b-hayes/)

> [Disunion and civil war are at hand; and yet I fear disunion and war less than compromise. We can recover from them. The free…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutherford-b-hayes/disunion-and-civil-war-are-at-hand-and-yet-i-fear-disunion-and-war/)

[Rutherford B. Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutherford-b-hayes/)

> [The best religion the world has ever known is the religion of the Bible. It builds up all that is good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutherford-b-hayes/the-best-religion-the-world-has-ever-known-is-the-religion-of-the/)

[Rutherford B. Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutherford-b-hayes/)

> [There is a great deal of strength in Garfield's life and struggles as a self-made man… From poverty and obscurity, by labor at all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutherford-b-hayes/there-is-a-great-deal-of-strength-in-garfield-s-life-and-struggles-as/)

[Rutherford B. Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutherford-b-hayes/)

> [No capitalists after any war were ever so well paid for money loaned to the nation that carried it on. No class of money-makers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutherford-b-hayes/no-capitalists-after-any-war-were-ever-so-well-paid-for-money-loaned/)

[Rutherford B. Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutherford-b-hayes/)

[Explore all 129 Rutherford B. Hayes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutherford-b-hayes/)

## More Men quotes

> [When I passed the Chancellor he arose, waved his hand at me, and I waved back at him. I think the writers showed bad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-owens/when-i-passed-the-chancellor-he-arose-waved-his-hand-at-me-and-i/)

[Jesse Owens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-owens/)

> [Life works most perfectly when a reciprocal love relationship is in place between man and God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-moore/life-works-most-perfectly-when-a-reciprocal-love-relationship-is-in/)

[Beth Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-moore/)

> [The man who can master his time can master nearly anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/the-man-who-can-master-his-time-can-master-nearly-anything/)

[Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/)

> [We do not want nowadays temples of worship and outward rites and ceremonies. What we really want is an Asram. We want a place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/we-do-not-want-nowadays-temples-of-worship-and-outward-rites-and/)

[Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/)

> [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/)

[Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/)

> [Social responsibility above the level of family, or at most of tribe, requires imagination-- devotion, loyalty, all the higher virtues -- which a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/social-responsibility-above-the-level-of-family-or-at-most-of-tribe/)

[Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/)

> [Most celebrated men live in a condition of prostitution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-augustin-sainte-beuve/most-celebrated-men-live-in-a-condition-of-prostitution/)

[Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-augustin-sainte-beuve/)

> [I cannot forbid a person to marry several wives, for it does not contradict Scripture. MARTIN LUTHER, letter to Chancellor Gregory Brück, January 13,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/i-cannot-forbid-a-person-to-marry-several-wives-for-it-does-not/)

[Jean de la Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/)

> [Hats off to starting a franchise younger than we all did in 'Twilight' and keeping your cool. The 'Harry Potter' men and women had,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kellan-lutz/hats-off-to-starting-a-franchise-younger-than-we-all-did-in-twilight/)

[Kellan Lutz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kellan-lutz/)

> [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/)

[Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/)

> [The prophet who fails to present a bearable alternative and yet preaches doom is part of the trap that he postulates. Not only does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-prophet-who-fails-to-present-a-bearable-alternative-and-yet/)

[Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/)

> [ That country \[Carthage\] was rapidly sinking into the state of barbarism from whence it had been raised by the Phoenician colonies and Roman laws;… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gibbon/that-country-carthage-was-rapidly-sinking-into-the-state-of-barbarism/)

[Edward Gibbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gibbon/)

> [Nothing is so powerful as an insight into human nature... what compulsions drive a man, what instincts dominate his action. If you know these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-bernbach/nothing-is-so-powerful-as-an-insight-into-human-nature-what/)

[William Bernbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-bernbach/)

> [But we are convinced that if we are to play a meaningful role nationally, and in the community of nations, we must be second…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-sarabhai/but-we-are-convinced-that-if-we-are-to-play-a-meaningful-role/)

[Vikram Sarabhai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-sarabhai/)

> [“Every select man strives instinctively for a citadel and a privacy, where he is FREE from the crowd, the many, the majority-- where he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/every-select-man-strives-instinctively-for-a-citadel-and-a-privacy/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

[Browse all 84,229 Men quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Unjust attacks on public men do them more good than unmerited praise.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Rutherford B. Hayes"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutherford-b-hayes/unjust-attacks-on-public-men-do-them-more-good-than-unmerited-praise/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Men"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutherford-b-hayes/unjust-attacks-on-public-men-do-them-more-good-than-unmerited-praise/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b9/rutherford-b-hayes-3486_men_unjust-attacks-on-public-men-do-them-mor_311506.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b9/rutherford-b-hayes-3486_men_unjust-attacks-on-public-men-do-them-mor_311506.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b9/rutherford-b-hayes-3486_men_unjust-attacks-on-public-men-do-them-mor_311506.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Unjust attacks on public men do them more good than unmerited praise.” — Rutherford B. Hayes",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Rutherford B. Hayes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutherford-b-hayes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Unjust attacks on public men do...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutherford-b-hayes/unjust-attacks-on-public-men-do-them-more-good-than-unmerited-praise/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutherford-b-hayes/unjust-attacks-on-public-men-do-them-more-good-than-unmerited-praise/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
