The wish to acquire more is admittedly a very natural and common thing; and when men succeed in this they are always praised rather than condemned. But when they lack the ability to do so and yet want to acquire more at all costs, they deserve condemnation for their mistakes. Niccolo Machiavelli
The writer wants to be understood much more than he wants to be respected or praised or even loved. And that perhaps, is what makes him different from others. Leo Rosten
There are two way of establishing a reputation, one to be praised by honest people and the other to be accused by rogues. It is best, however, to secure the first one, because it will always be accompanied by the latter. Charles Caleb Colton
Undeserved praise causes more pangs of conscience later than undeserved blame, but probably only for this reason, that our power of judgment are more completely exposed by being over praised than by being unjustly underestimated. Friedrich Nietzsche
When we had to do book reports, I would pick a book that no one read and just make it up and turn that in. I got praised for my imagination. Ahmet Zappa
Writing, I'm convinced, should be a subversive activity - frowned on by the authorities - and not one cooed over and praised beyond common sense by some teacher. Dan Simmons
