Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it. The tree is the real thing. (Abraham Lincoln)
Maybe there´s a large shadow, but just a small tree. On the other hand, there is a way too little shadwo behind a much too tall tree. But in the end, we always see what we want to see. We see in a person only what we want to see. Actually we never see the real person beyond its mask.