Quanto que el no creer es indicio del mentir; porque el mentiroso tiene dos males, que ni cree ni es creído. - Baltasar Gracián

moral cowardice lowers one more than physical. Many have had eminent qualities, yet, for want of a stout heart, they passed inanimate lives and found a tomb in their own sloth. Wise Nature has thoughtfully combined in the bee the sweetness of its honey with the sharpness of its sting. lv

Be slow in enjoyment, quick at work, for men see work ended with pleasure, pleasure ended with regret. clxxv

The Truth, but not the whole Truth. Nothing demands more caution than the truth: ’tis the lancet of the heart. It requires as much to tell the truth as to conceal it. A single lie destroys a whole reputation for integrity. The deceit is regarded as treason and the deceiver as a traitor, which is worse. Yet not all truths can be spoken: some for our own sake, others for the sake of others. clxxxii