I had rather complain of ill-fortune than be ashamed of victory. - Michel de Montaigne

So much din from so many philosophical brainboxes! Trust in your philosophy now! Boast that you are the one who has found the lucky bean in your festive pudding!

Virtue refuses facility for her companion … the easy, gentle, and sloping path that guides the footsteps of a good natural disposition is not the path of true virtue. It demands a rough and thorny road.

All we do is to look after the opinions and learning of others: we ought to make them our own.