James Payn Quotes

No degree of dullness can safeguard a work against the determination of critics to find it fascinating.

After a certain point, most people, including editors, will tell you everything you do is great.

There is no belittling worse than to over praise a man.

No sensible author wants anything but praise.

In literary criticism the critic has no choice but to make over the victim of his attention into something the size and shape of himself.

The eyes of critics, whether in commending or carping, are both on one side, like a turbot's.

Who doesn't love a compliment? But every compliment comes with a warning: Beware—Do Not Overuse. Go ahead, sniff your compliment. Take a little sip. But don't chew, don't swallow. If you do, you risk abandoning the good work that inspired the compliment in the first place. If that happens, maybe it was the compliment and not the job well done that you were aiming for all along.

It is the custom when praising a Russian writer to do so at the expense of all other Russian writers.

Nice, nice, very nice.

We should not be too niggardly in our praise, for men will do more to support a character than to raise one.

I am an actor and of course I respond very positively to flattery.

Praise from the praise-worthy is beyond all rewards.

An overdose of praise is like 10 lumps of sugar in coffee; only a very few people can swallow it.

If you mean to profit, learn to praise.

Consider carefully before you say a hard word to a man, but never let a chance to say a good one go by. Praise judiciously bestowed is money invested.

If they give me the bloody prize, why can't they say nice things about me?

When you get praise from someone that you really admire it's really surreal.

The humblest praise most, while cranks & malcontents praise least. Praise almost seems to be inner health made audible

The method of the critic is to balance praises with censure, and thus to do justice to the subject and--his own discrimination.

Praise is a more ingenious, concealed, and subtle kind of flattery, that satisfies both the giver and the receiver, though by verydifferent ways. The one accepts it as a reward due to his merit; the other gives it that he may be looked upon as a just and discerning person.

Many people know how to criticize, but few know how to praise.

Whatever you think people are withholding from you-praise, appreciation, assistance, loving care, and so on-give it to them.

Appreciation, applause, approval, respect - we all love it!

Without the freedom to criticize, there is no true praise.

I've never yet met a person who didn't want to be appreciated.