A man’s first care should be to avoid the reproaches of his own heart; his next, to escape the censures of the world. If the last interferes with the former, it ought to be entirely neglected; but otherwise there cannot be a greater satisfaction to an honest mind, than to see those approbations which it gives itself, seconded by the applauses of the public.

Joseph Addison (1672-1719) English essayist, poet, statesman

Essay (1711-07-20), The Spectator, No. 122
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