The Art of Worldly Wisdom(47)

Avoid "Affairs of Honor"—one of the chiefest aims of prudence. In people of great ability the extremes are kept far asunder, so that there is a long distance between them, and they always keep in the middle of their caution, so that they take time to break through. It is easier to avoid such affairs than to come well out of them. They test our judgment---it is better to avoid them than to conquer in them. One affair of honour leads to another, and may lead to an affair of dishonor. There are people so constituted by nature or by nation that they easily enter upon such obligations. But for those who walk by the light of reason, such matters require long thinking over. There is more valor needed not to take up the affair than to conquer in it. When there is one fool ready for the occasion, one may excuse oneself from being the second.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />