A man who is always ready to believe what is told him will never do well.

"...Nobody rose in Packingtown by doing good work. You could lay that down for a rule — if you met a man who was rising in Packingtown, you met a knave. That man who had been sent to Jurgis' father by the boss, he would rise; the man who told tales and spied upon his fellows would rise; but the man who minded his own business and did his work — why, they would "speed him up" till they had worn him out, and then they would throw him into the gutter."

One can only influence the strong characters in life, not the weak; and it is the height of vanity to suppose that you can make an honest man of anyone.