“It may be remarked in passing that success is an ugly thing. Men are deceived by its false resemblances to merit. To the crowd, success wears almost the features of true mastery, and the greatest dupe of this counterfeit talent is History.”

“We live in the midst of a gloomy society. Success; that is the lesson which falls drop by drop from the slope of corruption.Be it said in passing, that success is a very hideous thing. Its false resemblance to merit deceives men. For the masses, success has almost the same profile as supremacy. Success, that Menaechmus of talent, has one dupe,--history.”

“Success is a very hideous thing. Its false resemblance to merit deceives men.”

“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.”

“True or false, that which is said of men often occupies as important a place in their lives, and above all in their destinies, as that which they do.”

“Whether true or false, what is said about men often has as much influence on their lives, and particularly on their destinies, as what they do.”

“Be it true or false, what is said about men often has as much influence upon their lives, and especially upon their destinies, as what they do.”