Reputation cannot be commanded; it can only be earned. Whoever first said it, the line distils a very Enlightenment idea: judge people by their conduct, not by their rank, rhetoric or self-promotion. It echoes Aristotle’s view that we become just by doing just acts - character is built, and shown, through action - and it is a quiet rebuke to an age of image management and personal branding. Spin can buy attention for a while, but lasting good opinion follows lasting good behaviour. The advice is simple and demanding: stop worrying about what people say, and give them something true to say.