The more a person frees himself from people-pleasing, from vanity, the easier it is for him to serve God, and vice versa.
Do not lead your life in such a way as to make others think of you a certain way, but in a way that will make you think well of yourself.
— Lucy Mallory
The same flaws that in others are heavy and unbearable weigh nothing in us—we do not feel them; when some speak about another person, presenting them in a terrible way, they do not realize that they are depicting themselves.
Nothing would fix our flaws quicker than if we had the strength to see ourselves in others. Seeing our flaws at such a distance, as they truly are, we would hate them as much as they deserve.
— La Bruyère
The consolation of good people is in their conscience, not in what people say.
The human being has an irresistible desire to believe that no one can see him when he himself sees nothing—like children who shut their eyes to avoid being seen.
It is very useful to imagine the impression that our lives and our deeds make on others.
The quickest and surest way to pass for a virtuous person is to work on yourself in order to be one. Examine all the virtues and you will see that they all grow through effort and practice.
— Socratic dialogues
People criticize the one who stays silent; they criticize the one who talks a lot; and they even criticize the one who talks little. There is not a single person whom people would not criticize.
— The Dhammapada
Bashfulness is a commendable trait in a person: the one who is shy is not quick to sin.
— The Talmud
Never make excuses.
Prefer a stranger who loves the truth to your neighbors who do not respect it.
— Demophilus
Would you say that a person who considers his happiness to consist in his children, in his friends, in things that are fragile and perishable to be happy? His whole wellbeing can collapse in an instant. Rely on nothing but yourself and the Deity.
— Demophilus
Vanity is a feeling that is most incompatible with true sorrow, and yet this feeling is so much a part of human nature that even a most intense sorrow is rarely capable of driving it away.
In sorrow, vanity is expressed by a desire to seem either saddened, unfortunate or firm; and these low desires, which we refuse to admit, but which almost never leave us—even during moments of great grief—deprive us of the sympathy that we naturally feel at the grief of a neighbor.
There is an element of vanity in the kindest of deeds, a desire to be praised by others. This desire is harmless only when a person can tell himself that he would still do it even if he received censure instead of praise.
