Cicero: “A refusal, though perfectly right, is attacked by those to whom they refuse compliance as a violation of the laws of…”

Again, there are certain duties that we owe even to those who have wronged us.

But for all cases we have one rule, with which I desire you to be perfectly familiar: that which seems expedient must not be morally wrong; or, if it is morally wrong, it must not seem expedient.

And it is a great man's duty in troublous times to single out the guilty for punishment, to spare the many, and in every turn of fortune to hold to a true and honourable course.

Such acts of generosity are not to be so highly esteemed as those which are performed with judgment, deliberation, and mature consideration.