As I am an honest man, I thought you had received some bodily wound; there is more sense in that than in reputation. Reputation is an idle and most false imposition: oft got without merit, and lost without deserving.
– William Shakespeare
Othello, Act 2, Scene 3. With much irony and as part of his plan to deceive others, Iago refers to himself as an honest person when he speaks to Cassio. Cassio has lamented that his reputation is ruined after getting into a drunken brawl and losing his position as Othello’s lieutenant. But Iago offers Cassio his own cynical view on reputation, saying that it is not that important because it is often given without being deserved.