The secret of a great success for which you are at a loss to account is a crime that has never been found out, because it was properly executed. – Honore de Balzac

Set a thief to catch a thief. – Proverb

Save a thief from the gallows and he will cut your throat. – Proverb

As for an authentic villain, the real thing, the absolute, the artist, one rarely meets him even once in a lifetime. The ordinary bad hat is always in part a decent fellow. – Sidonie Gabrielle Colette