He is a man of splendid abilities, but utterly corrupt. He shines and stinks like rotten mackerel by moonlight.
John Randolph of Roanoke (1773-1833) American politician, diplomat
(Attributed)
Comment on Edward Livingson, quoted in W. Cabell Bruce, John Randolph of Roanoke, Vol. 2 (1923). Sometimes incorrectly given as an attack on Henry Clay.
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There are reproaches that compliment, and compliments that disparage.
François VI, duc de La Rochefoucauld (1613-1680) French epigrammatist, memoirist, noble
Réflexions ou sentences et maximes morales [Maxims], #148 (1665) [tr. Kronenberger (1959)]
