Reputation is favorable notoriety as distinguished from fame, which is permanent approval of great deeds and noble thoughts by the best intelligence of mankind.
Interpretation
Reputation is about how others view us based on our actions, while fame is the lasting recognition for significant accomplishments.
This quote by George William Curtis highlights the distinction between reputation and fame. Reputation refers to the perception of an individual based on their actions and the impressions they leave on others, emphasizing that it is favorable notoriety. In contrast, fame is depicted as a more enduring recognition, tied to noteworthy achievements and moral integrity, validated by the collective judgment of the best minds in society. Curtis prompts us to reflect on how our actions contribute to our reputation while also recognizing the deeper, lasting impact of our more significant deeds.
In practice
In a discussion about the importance of personal integrity in leadership, one might say, 'As George William Curtis said, 'Reputation is favorable notoriety...'
There is very little moral mixture in the 'Antislavery' feeling of this country. A great deal is abstract philanthropy; part is hatred of slaveholders; a great part is jealousy for white labor, very little is consciousness of wrong done and the wish to right it.
I think that to have known one good, old man-one man, who, through the chances and mischances of a long life, has carried his heart in his hand, like a palm-branch, waving all discords into peace-helps our faith in God, in ourselves, and in each other more than many sermons
The fragrance always stays in the hand that gives the rose.
Gatsby turned out all right at the end; it is what preyed on Gatsby, what foul dust floated in the wake of his dreams that temporarily closed out my interest in the abortive sorrows and short-winded elations of men.
Roughly speaking, I think it's accurate to say that a corporate elite of managers and owners governs the economy and the political system as well, at least in very large measure.
Take note of the fact that I am a follower (of the religion) and not an innovator.
We have the universe to roam in in imagination. It is our virtue to be infinitely varied. The worst tyranny is uniformity.
It is the destiny of the weak to be devoured by the strong.
It is dangerous to be an American Negro male. America has never wanted its Negroes to be men, and does not, generally, treat them as men. It treats them as mascots, pets, or things.
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