This site is dedicated to the memory of Dr. Alan William Smolowe who gave birth to the creation of this database.
George Augustus Sala, fully George Augustus Henry Sala
Esteem is the harvest of a whole life spent in usefulness; but reputation is often bestowed upon a chance action, and depends most on success.
Action | Chance | Esteem | Life | Life | Reputation | Success | Usefulness | Wisdom |
Real goodness does not attach itself merely to this life - it points to another world. Political or professional reputation cannot last forever, but a conscience void of offense before God and man is an inheritance for eternity.
Conscience | Eternity | God | Inheritance | Life | Life | Man | Offense | Reputation | Wisdom | World | God |
Build your reputation by helping other people build theirs.
People | Reputation |
Among the smaller duties of life, I hardly know any one more important than that of not praising where praise is not due. Reputation is one of the prizes for which men contend: it produces more labor and more talent than twice the wealth of a country could ever rear up. It is the coin of genius, and it is the imperious duty of every man to bestow it with the most scrupulous justice and the wisest economy.
Duty | Important | Justice | Labor | Life | Life | Man | Men | Praise | Reputation | Wealth | Talent |
Character is like a tree and reputation like its shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.
Character | Reputation | Think |
Alexis de Tocqueville, Alexis-Charles-Henri Clérel de Tocqueville
A brilliant achievement may win for you the favor of a people at one stroke; but to earn the love and respect of the population that surrounds you, a long succession of little services rendered and of obscure good deeds, a constant habit of kindness and an established reputation for disinterestedness will be required.
Achievement | Deeds | Good | Habit | Kindness | Little | Love | People | Reputation | Respect | Will | Respect |
A single lie destroys a whole reputation for integrity.
Integrity | Reputation |
To pity the unhappy is not contrary to selfish desire; on the other hand, we are glad of the occupation to thus testify friendship and attract to ourselves the reputation of tenderness, without giving anything.
Desire | Giving | Occupation | Pity | Reputation | Tenderness | Friendship |
The only things in which we can be said to have any property are our actions. Our thoughts may be bad, yet produce no poison; they may be good, yet produce no fruit. Our riches may be taken away by misfortune, our reputation by malice, our spirits by calamity, our health by disease, our friends by death. But our actions must follow us beyond the grave; with respect to them alone, we cannot say that we shall carry nothing with us when we die, neither that we shall go naked out of the world.
Calamity | Death | Disease | Good | Grave | Health | Malice | Misfortune | Nothing | Property | Reputation | Respect | Riches | World | Riches | Respect | Friends |
The two most precious things on this side the grave are our reputation and our life. But it is to be lamented that the most contemptible whisper may deprive us of the one, and the weakest weapon of the other.
Grave | Life | Life | Reputation |
Confucius, aka Kong Qiu, Zhongni, K'ung Fu-tzu or Kong Fuzi NULL
A noble person covets the reputation of being slow in word but prompt in deed.
Time goes by; reputation increases, ability declines.
Ability | Reputation | Time |
Time goes by: reputation increases, ability decline.
Ability | Reputation | Time |
Many a man's reputation would not know his character if they met on the street.
Character | Man | Reputation |
The greater the difficulty the more glory in surmounting it. Skillful pilots gain their reputation from storms and tempests.
Difficulty | Glory | Reputation |