Merit

Famous quotes containing the word merit:

    O that estates, degrees, and offices
    Were not derived corruptly, and that clear honor
    Were purchased by the merit of the wearer!
    William Shakespeare (1564–1616)

    What I shall have to say here is neither difficult nor contentious; the only merit I should like to claim for it is that of being true, at least in parts.
    —J.L. (John Langshaw)

    Sentimentalists ... adopt whatever merit is in good repute, and almost make it hateful with their praise. The warmer their expressions, the colder we feel.... Cure the drunkard, heal the insane, mollify the homicide, civilize the Pawnee, but what lessons can be devised for the debauchee of sentiment?
    Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)