Quotations about Sycophancy

“But if you say, you can still pass the violations over, then I ask, Hath your house been burnt? Hath your property been destroyed before your face? Are your wife and children destitute of a bed to lie on, or bread to live on? Have you lost a parent or a child by their hands, and yourself the ruined and wretched survivor? If you have not, then you are not a judge of those who have. But if you have, and can still shake hands with the murderers, then you are unworthy the name of husband, father, friend, or lover, and whatever may be your rank or title in life, you have the heart of a coward, and the spirit of a sycophant.” - Thomas Paine, “Common Sense”. From Common Sense, the Rights of Man, and Other Essential Writings of Thomas Paine. New York: Penguin Books, 1984, pg. 42.