The world more often rewards the appearance of merit than merit itself. – La Rochefoucauld, Maxims, 1665

Nothing astonishes men so much as common sense and plain dealing. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

There is no good in arguing with the inevitable. The only argument available with an east wind is to put on your overcoat. – James Russell Lowell, Democracy and Other Addresses, 1887

He was a “how” thinker, not an “if” thinker. – Author Unknown