Let every man look before he leaps.

The moral precept to adopt...is: Judge, and be prepared to be judged.

In all matters, before beginning, a diligent preparation should be made.

Try before you trust.

There is nothing which a prudent man must shun more carefully than living with a view to popularity and giving serious thought to the things esteemed by the multitude, instead of making sound reason his guide of life, so that, even if he must gainsay all men and fall into disrepute and incur danger for the sake of what is honourable, he will in no wise choose to swerve from what has been recognized as right.

Caution and investigation are a necessary armor against error and imposition.

Take no truths upon trust, but all upon trial.

Every piece of advice must be taken before it’s given.

Make it a practice to judge
persons and things in the most favorable light
at all times and under all circumstances.

If thou canst see sharp, look and judge wisely, says the philosopher.

³In order to judge anything rightly, one would have to be fully aware of an inconceivably wide range of things; past, present and to come. ⁴One would have to recognize in advance all the effects of his judgments on everyone and everything involved in them in any way. ⁵And one would have to be certain there is no distortion in his perception, so that his judgment would be wholly fair to everyone on whom it rests now and in the future. ⁶Who is in a position to do this?
[M-10.3:3-6]

My confidence is that he’s been somebody who has been tried and tested at some point and found diligent and also found acceptable.

In peace, as a wise man, he should make suitable preparation for war.

Be courteous to all, but intimate with few; and let those be well-tried before you give them your confidence.