Definitions HQ

Merit (n.) in ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠religion is not earned by repaying a debt, since many would do it without a god; fasting a day or giving oneself a sound whipping counts as service to God alone.

Merit (n.) cannot ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠be the rule of property, because it is obscure by nature and every man is conceited about his own; give the most to the most virtuous and society dissolves.

Merit (n.) is ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠judged like a peach tree: we call it the better tree for its fruit even if snails ate the peaches before they ripened — the tree is known by the fruit, not by the accident.

Merit (n.) in ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠a person consists altogether in qualities useful or agreeable to oneself or to others — so obvious it is cast as naturally as a shadow by the sun, and only systems could have hidden it so long.

Merit (n.) varies ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠chiefly among the young, whose graces are arbitrary; the merit of riper years is almost everywhere the same.