What flatterers say, try to make true.

This saying is typically presented in English as a “German proverb,” reflecting a strand of German-language moral maxims that warn against flattery while also urging self-improvement. Rather than treating praise as reliable testimony, the proverb reframes it as a challenge: if someone flatters you—calling you wise, generous, or brave—use that as motivation to become worthy of the compliment. In collections of European proverbs, such counsel often appears alongside admonitions about vanity and the social dangers of courtiers and sycophants, where flattering speech can distort judgment and character. The line’s imperative form suggests practical, everyday ethical guidance rather than a literary epigram tied to a single occasion.

The line turns flattery into a moral challenge. Instead of being seduced by praise, the listener is urged to ask: “If this is what people say I am, can I make it true?” The proverb thus offers a disciplined response to compliments—neither cynical rejection nor self-satisfied acceptance, but self-improvement. It also implies that flattering words may be exaggerated or strategic; the safest way to neutralize their harm is to treat them as aspirational rather than descriptive. In that sense, the saying links reputation to responsibility: public praise becomes a prompt to cultivate genuine character and competence.