“A man may be reputed an able man this year, and yet be a beggar the next; it is a misfortune that happens to many men, and his former reputation will signify nothing.”

—  John Holt (Lord Chief Justice)

Reg. v. Swendsen (1702), 14 How. St. Tr. 596.

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "A man may be reputed an able man this year, and yet be a beggar the next; it is a misfortune that happens to many men, …" by John Holt (Lord Chief Justice)?
John Holt (Lord Chief Justice) photo
John Holt (Lord Chief Justice)36
English lawyer and Lord Chief Justice of England 1642–1710

Related quotes

Elbert Hubbard photo

“Many a man's reputation would not know his character if they met on the street.”

Elbert Hubbard (1856–1915) American writer, publisher, artist, and philosopher fue el escritor del jarron azul

Francis Bacon photo

“But yet he was reputed one of the wise men, that made answer to the question, when a man should marry,—A young man not yet, an elder man not at all.”

Francis Bacon (1561–1626) English philosopher, statesman, scientist, jurist, and author

The Essays Or Counsels, Civil And Moral, Of Francis Ld. Verulam Viscount St. Albans (1625), Of Marriage and Single Life

John Bartholomew Gough photo

“A man is what he is, not what men say he is. His character no man can touch. His character is what he is before his God and his Judge; and only himself can damage that. His reputation is what men say he is. That can be damaged; but reputation is for time, character is for eternity.”

John Bartholomew Gough (1817–1886) Anglo-American temperance orator

Source: Dictionary of Burning Words of Brilliant Writers (1895), P. 46.

Bernard Cornwell photo

“The preachers tell us that pride is a great sin, but the preachers are wrong. Pride makes a man, it drives him, it is the shield wall around his reputation… Men die, they said, but reputation does not die.”

Bernard Cornwell book The Last Kingdom

Source: The Last Kingdom

Terry Pratchett photo

“Tell someone you are going to rob them and all that will happen is that you'll get a reputation as a truthful man.”

Terry Pratchett (1948–2015) English author

“Honor is a man's reputation for strength, courage and mastery within the context of an honor group comprised primarily of other men.”

Jack Donovan (1974) American activist, editor and writer

Pg 57
The Way of Men (2012)
Context: Honor is a man's reputation for strength, courage and mastery within the context of an honor group comprised primarily of other men. Stated as a masculine virtue: Honor is concern for one's reputation for strength, courage and mastery within the context of an honor group comprised primarily of other men.

Oliver Wendell Holmes photo

“How many people live on the reputation of the reputation they might have made!”

Oliver Wendell Holmes (1809–1894) Poet, essayist, physician

The Autocrat of the Breakfast Table (1858)

Lucian Truscott photo

“Character is what you are. Reputation is what others think you are. The reason that some fail to climb the ladder of success, or of leadership if you want to call it that, is that there is a difference between reputation and character. The two do not always coincide. A man may be considered to have sterling character. Opportunity might come to that man; but if he has the reputation for something he is not, he may fail that opportunity. I think character is the foundation of successful leadership.”

Lucian Truscott (1895–1965) Recipient of the Purple Heart medal

Quoted in Air Force Journal of Logistics, March 22, 2005, Notable quotes.(Lucien Truscott)(Brief Article)

P.G. Wodehouse photo

“Many a man may look respectable, and yet be able to hide at will behind a spiral staircase.”

P.G. Wodehouse book Sunset at Blandings

Sunset at Blandings (1977 (posthumously published))

Michel De Montaigne photo

“How many worthy men have we seen survive their own reputation!”

Michel De Montaigne book Essays

Book II, Ch. 16. Of Glory
Essais (1595), Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. (1919)
Variant: How many valiant men we have seen to survive their own reputation!

Related topics