He gave me no sign. I was never the sort to receive portents, or to delude myself that I had. Silence was always my portion, in return for my prayers. - Lois McMaster Bujold

“Seems to me the only difference between your friends and your enemies is how long they stand around chatting before they shoot you.”
“Yes,” Vorkosigan agreed, “I could take over the universe with this army if I could ever get all their weapons pointed in the same direction.”

Well, it is a particular sin to permit grief for what is gone to poison the praise for what blessings remain to us.

But have you ever overheard two women discussing men? Men are crude liars, comparing their drabs, but women—I'd rather have a Mother's anatomist dissect me alive than to listen to the things the ladies say about us when they think they are alone.