Cicero: “The pirates' sense of honour is higher than the senate's.”

In the matter of a promise one must always consider the meaning and not the mere words.

It is, therefore, only a madman who, in a calm, would pray for a storm; a wise man's way is, when the storm does come, to withstand it with all the means at his command, and especially, when the advantages to be expected in case of a…

Thus apparent expediency is outweighed when placed in the balance against moral rectitude.

Accordingly, in encountering danger we should do as doctors do in their practice: in light cases of illness they give mild treatment; in cases of dangerous sickness they are compelled to apply hazardous and even desperate remedies.