'The first in banquets, but the last in battle,'" quoted Pyrron. "Still and all, he suffered from the king's disease." "What is that?" "Self-conceit,… - L. Sprague de Camp

I passed that off as women’s intuition, which is wrong more often than not. People remember the times it works and forget those it fails.

Now I said: “It’s unjust, Father. A man’s fate should be determined impersonally, on the basis of his virtues and abilities alone, without regard to all these petty personal likes and dislikes.”
My father replied: “Perhaps it should be but it isn’t. If they like you, they’ll excuse your faults; if they dislike you, they’ll overlook your virtues.”
“Then they’re a lot of stupid fools!”
“Are you only just now learning that? But if they are, you won’t change them, not in one lifetime.

As you know, Monsieur Newbury, the civilization is but a thin crust over our savage interiors, no matter if our skins be white or black. We must try to keep this shell of egg intact.