Merit Quotes - Page 4

• I am told so many ill things of a man, and I see so few in him, that I begin to suspect he has a real but troublesome merit, as being likely to eclipse that of others.

  Jean de la Bruyere

  Real, Men, Eclipse

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• How can we judge fairly of the characters and merits of men, of the wisdom or folly of actions, unless we have . . . an accurate knowledge of all particulars, so that we may live as it were in the times, and among the persons, of whom we read, see with their eyes, and reason and decide on their premises?

  William Wilberforce

  Character, Eye, Men

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• Real merit requires as much labor, to be placed in a true light, as humbug to be elevated to an unworthy eminence; only the success of the false is temporary, that of the true, immortal.

  Francis Alexander Durivage

  Real, Light, Immortal

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• Men sometimes feel injured by praise because it assigns a limit to their merit; few people are modest enough not to take offense that one appreciates them.

  Luc de Clapiers

  Humility, Pride, Men

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• Plagiarists, at least, have the merit of preservation.

  Benjamin Disraeli

  Plagiarism, Preservation

  Isaac Disraeli, Benjamin Disraeli (Earl of Beaconsfield) (1858). “Curiosities of Literature”, p.443

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• Miller didn't write Death of a Salesman. He released it. It was there inside him, waiting to be turned loose. That's the measure of its merit.

  Elia Kazan

  Writing, Waiting, Salesman

  Elia Kazan (2011). “Elia Kazan: A Life”, p.695, Knopf

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• I was induced to establish several orders of merit, from conviction that emulation, well directed, becomes a useful servant; and, that the latent genius of some youth is more easily brought into action this way, than by the more sordid gratification of self-interest.

  Joseph Lancaster

  Self, Order, Genius

  Joseph Lancaster (1803). “Improvements in education, as it respects the industrious classes of the community”, p.48

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• Reputation is only a candle, of wavering and uncertain flame, and easily blown out, but it is the light by which the world looks for and finds merit.

  James Russell Lowell

  Happiness, Success, Character

  JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL (1871). “THE POETICAL WORKS OF JOHN KEATS.”, p.14

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• There are few cases in which mere popularity should be considered a proper test of merit; but the case of song-writing is, I think, one of the few.

  Edgar Allan Poe

  Song, Writing, Thinking

  Edgar Allan Poe (2013). “Delphi Complete Works of Edgar Allan Poe (Illustrated)”, p.1877, Delphi Classics

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• Beauties in vain their pretty eyes may roll; charms strike the sight, but merit wins the soul.

  Alexander Pope

  Beauty, Eye, Winning

  'The Rape of the Lock' (1714) canto 5, l. 33

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• To delight in war is a merit in the soldier, a dangerous quality in the captain, and a positive crime in the statesman.

  George Santayana

  Positive, War, Remembrance

  George Santayana (1934). “Little essays drawn from the writings of George Santayana”, p.262, Рипол Классик

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• I think there's a lot of merit in an international economy and global markets, but they're not sufficient because markets don't look after social needs.

  George Soros

  Thinking, Needs, Looks

  Interview with Mark Schapiro, September 05, 2000.

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• To listen is an effort, and just to hear is no merit. A duck hears also.

  Igor Stravinsky

  Music, Ducks, Effort

  "Biography/ Personal Quotes". www.imdb.com.

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• The unions say 'last hired - first fired,', we say hire and fire based on merit. We want the best and brightest in the classroom.

  Scott Walker

  Fire, Unions, Want

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• Fondly we think we honor merit then, when we but praise ourselves in other men.

  Alexander Pope

  Men, Thinking, Honor

  Alexander Pope (2015). “An Essay on Criticism”, p.14, Sheba Blake Publishing

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• Evidently the merit depends on the result of the work.

  Henryk Sienkiewicz

  Results, Depends

  Henryk Sienkiewicz (1898). “So Runs the World”, London : F. T. Neely

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• Nearly all the things I do that are of any merit at all start off just being good fun.

  Brian Eno

  Fun, Just Being, Be Good

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• If you are looking for smart judging based on merit, skip the Academy Awards next year and pay attention to the Independent Spirit Awards.

  Annie Proulx

  Smart, Independent, Years

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• I no longer have the terrible nightmares that I used to have. Mao had just died in 1976, and China began to open up. For the first time scholarships to go to the West to study were awarded on academic merit.

  Jung Chang

  West, Firsts, Study

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• There's always merit to having a debate.

  Ward Churchill

  Debate

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• Cagey trial lawyers have figured out there's a pretty good likelihood their case - no matter what its merit - will literally get its day in court because of favorable judges.

  Dennis Hastert

  Good Day, Feet, Judging

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• In point of substantial merit the law school belongs in the modern university no more than a school of fencing or dancing.

  Thorstein Veblen

  School, Law, Dancing

  The Higher Learning in America ch. 7 (1918)

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• Truth is the only merit that gives dignity and worth to history.

  Lord Acton

  History, Giving, Dignity

  Lord Acton (2016). “The History of Freedom: Great Event”, p.125, VM eBooks

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• It wasn't glamorous in my day. In the regions, reporters were seen as such low life that they didn't merit their name in the Radio Times. Now people are interested in being famous. I never gave it a thought.

  Kate Adie

  Names, People, Literature

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• In politics, merit is rewarded by the possessor being raised, like a target, to a position to be fired at.

  Christian Nestell Bovee

  Political, Target, Politics

  Christian Nestell Bovee (1862). “Intuitions and Summaries of Thought”, p.95

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