Merit Quotes

Those are greedy of praise prove that they are poor in merit.

FREEBOOTER, n. A conqueror in a small way of business, whose annexations lack of the sanctifying merit of magnitude.

A knight errant who turns mad for a reason deserves neither merit nor thanks. The thing is to do it without cause

Make a habit of telling the truth, or make a habit of lying: to decide each case on its own merits is exhausting, and hardly ever worth it.

...Fatherland without freedom and merit is a large word with little meaning.

I look upon another's insistence on the merits of his or her life - duties, intellect, accomplishment - and see that most of it is nonsense.

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.

Merit consists in the virtue of love alone, flavored with the light of true discretion without which the soul is worth nothing.

Success is an ugly thing. Men are deceived by its false resemblances to merit.... They confound the brilliance of the firmament with the star-shaped footprints of a duck in the mud.

More glorious to merit a sceptre than to possess one.

Some people displease with merit, and others' very faults and defects are pleasing.

Now an infinite happiness cannot be purchased by any price less than that which is infinite in value; and infinity of merit can only result from a nature that is infinitely divine or perfect

Vanity is a strong temptation to lying; it makes people magnify their merit, over flourish their family, and tell strange stories of their interest and acquaintance.

Praise without merit is more harmful than unearned criticism.

People that are conceited of their own merit take pride in being unfortunate, that themselves and others may think them considerable enough to be the envy and the mark of fortune.

Artists have to believe in the merit of their own work and persevere whether they receive public recognition or not, but it's ever so nice when someone says, "Job well done"!

Plagiarists, at least, have the merit of preservation.

A Bible and a newspaper in every house, a good school in every district; all studied and appreciated as they merit; are the principal support of virtue, morality, and civil liberty.

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.

Faith is not in itself a meritorious act; the merit is in the One to Whom it is directed.

In ethics all individual humans are rightly seen, not only as beings to whom things matter, but as beings who accordingly merit concern and solicitude.

This is the merit and distinction of art: to be more real than reality, to be not nature but nature's essence.

Those who do not read criticism will rarely merit to be criticised.

There is small merit in mocking goodness, tweaking charity; it is much more comic to deprive people of their petty little existence for no reason at all, for a lark.

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

The mice which helplessly find themselves between the cats teeth acquire no merit from their enforced sacrifice.

A work of real merit finds favor at last.

Giving no pain to any creature, let him slowly accumulate spiritual merit, for the sake ,of acquiring a companion to the next world, just as the white ant ,gradually raises its hill.

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.

No work is of such merit as to instruct from a mere cursory perusal.

It is the merit of a general to impart good news, and to conceal the truth.

There should be, methinks, as little merit in loving a woman for her beauty as in loving a man for his prosperity; both being equally subject to change.

Can't I another's face commend, Or to her virtues be a friend, But instantly your forehead louers, As if her merit lessen'd yours?

Can words such as Orthodox, Jew, or Catholic really express some sort of exclusive personal virtues or merits?

The sufficiency of my merit is to know that my merit is not sufficient.

The more merit, the less affection.

Great masters merit emulation, not worship.

The sage never seems to know his own merits, for only by not noticing them can you call others' attention to them.

The vain man makes a merit of misfortune, and triumphs in his disgrace.

My primary lesson, however, was that I'm a solo writer, happiest when I'm making all the executive decisions. I've always been willing to rise or fall on my own merits.

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.

The market system requires that people be committed and willing to work hard. Inherent with that is what I call a merit system, which I think gives people the greatest opportunity.

If it is impossible to judge merit and guilt in the field of natural science, then it is not possible in any field, and historical research becomes an idle, empty activity.

Fame, we may understand, is no sure test of merit, but only a probability of such; it is an accident, not a property of man.

Remedy your deficiencies,and your merits will take care of themselves.

The earmark favor factory needs to be boarded up and demolished, not turned over to new management that may or may not have a better eye for earmarks with 'merit.'

The silence that accepts merit as the most natural thing in the world is the highest applause.

Mere bashfulness without merit is awkwardness.

The merit of a democratic regime rests on one's continual willingness to exchange views, and to compete on the basis of individual merit and capacities.

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.