prestige quotes

The great offices, whether permanent or parliamentary, which require mind now give social prestige, and almost only those. An Under-Secretary of State with »2,000 a year is a much greater man than the director of a finance company with »5,000, and the country saves the difference.

-Walter Bagehot
  The English Constitution, ch.4,'The House of Lords'.

I earn it by enjoying such authorityand prestige that people will not buy expensive Italian pictures without myapproval.

- Bernard Berenson
Comment on his income, addressed to the Internal Revenue Service. Quoted in The Making of a Legend (1987).