“Of the king's creation you may be; but he who makes a count ne'er made a man.”
Sir Anthony Love, Act ii, scene 1; reported in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. (1919). Compare: "I weigh the man, not his title; 't is not the king's stamp can make the metal better", William Wycherley, The Plaindealer, Act i. scene 1.
