As men of honour ought to consider calmly how far the things which they
promise may be in their power, before they venture to make promises
upon this account, because the non-performance of them will be apt to
excite an uneasiness within themselves, and tarnish their reputation in
the eyes of other people; so fools and cowards should be as little rash
in this respect as possible, lest their impudent forgeries draw upon
them the resentment of those whom they disappoint, and that resentment
makes them undergo smart, but deserved, chastisement. The man who is so
stupid a knave as to make a lying promise where he is sure to be
detected, receives the punishment of his folly unpitied by all that know
him.