The world more often rewards the appearances
of merit than merit itself.
?François Duc de La Rochefoucauld
We start with gifts. Merit comes
from what we make of them.
?Jean Toomer
Charm strikes the sight,
but merit wins the soul.
?Alexander Pope
Reputation is an idle and most false
imposition; oft got without
merit, and lost without deserving.
?William Shakespeare
Merit is often an obstacle to fortune;
the reason is it produces
two bad effects, envy and fear.
?Proverb
They merit more praise who know how
to suffer misery than those who
temper themselves in contentment.
?Pietro Aretino
Speak little and well if you wish to
be esteemed a person of merit.
?French Proverb
True merit, like a river, the deeper
it is, the less noise it makes.
?Edward F. Halifax
