Consequences are unpitying. Our deeds carry their terrible consequences, quite apart from any fluctuations that went before—consequences that are hardly ever confined to ourselves. And it is best to fix our minds on that certainty, instead of considering what may be the elements of excuse for us. – George Eliot, Adam Bede

I have found some of the best reasons I ever had for remaining at the bottom simply by looking at the men at the top. – Frank Moore Colby

We judge ourselves by what we feel capable of doing, while others judge us by what we have already done. – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Kavanagh, 1849

Sometimes, to do the right thing, we must keep a promise we never made. – Robert Brault, rbrault.blogspot.com