This site is dedicated to the memory of Dr. Alan William Smolowe who gave birth to the creation of this database.
Few persons have sufficient wisdom to prefer censure which is useful to them to praise which deceives them.
Generally we praise only to be praised... Refusal of praise is a desire to be praised twice.
To praise great actions with sincerity may be said to be taking part in them.
It is a sign of a creeping inner death when we no longer can praise the living.
The meanest, most contemptible kind of praise is that which first speaks well of a man, and then qualifies it with a 'but.'
The meanest, most contemptible kind of praise is that which first speaks well of a man, and then qualifies it with a "but."
John Ciardi, fully John Anthony Ciardi
It is easy enough to praise men for the courage of their convictions. I wish I could teach the sad young of this mealy generation the courage of their confusions.
Superstition, in all times and among all nations, is the fear of a spirit whose passions are those of a man, whose acts are the acts of a man; who is present in some places, not in others; who makes some places holy and not others; who is kind to one person, unkind to another; who is pleased or angry according to the degree of attention you pay him, or praise you refuse him; who is hostile generally to human pleasure, but may be bribed by sacrifice of a part of that pleasure into permitting the rest. This, whatever form of faith it colors, is the essence of superstition.
Attention | Faith | Fear | Man | Nations | Pleasure | Praise | Present | Rest | Sacrifice | Spirit | Superstition |
The highest thoughts are those which are least dependent on language, and the dignity of any composition and praise to which it is entitled are in exact proportion to is dependency of language and expression.
The way of this world is to praise dead saints and persecute living ones.
“Every morning of the world I give thanks for all the wonderful things in my life,” declared a young man enthusiastically. “And do you know something? It’s strange indeed, but the more I give thanks, the more I have reason to be thankful. For, you see, blessings just pile up on me one after another like nobody’s business”... The more you practice the art of thankfulness, the more you have to be thankful for... The attitude of gratitude revitalizes the entire mental process by activating all other attitudes, thus stimulating creativity... Remember that praise and thanksgiving are the most powerful prayers of all.
Art | Blessings | Business | Creativity | Gratitude | Life | Life | Man | Practice | Praise | Reason | Thankfulness | World | Art |
Plutarch, named Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus after becoming Roman citizen NULL
Those who are greedy of praise prove that they are poor in merit.
Plutarch, named Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus after becoming Roman citizen NULL
If our own conscience protests and refuses to accept praise then it is proof against the flatterer.
Conscience | Need | Praise | World |
It’s about whether we’re going to be able to look forward to our descendants and hand this world over to them in much better shape, so they will look back on us with kindness and with praise – rather than cursing us for our apathy, or our narcissism, or our refusal to stand up tall for justice and freedom in the world.
Apathy | Better | Freedom | Justice | Kindness | Praise | Will | World |
A man is known by the books he reads, by the company he keeps, by the praise he gives, by his dress, by his tastes, by his distastes, by the stories he tells, by his gait, by the motion of his eye, by the look of his house, of his chamber; for nothing on earth is solitary, but everything hath affinities infinite.