One good discreet expedient made use of upon an emergency, will do
a man more real service, and make others think better of him, than
to have passed all his life for a shrewd crafty fellow, full of his
stratagems and expedients, and valuing himself upon his having a deeper
knowledge of the world than his neighbours. Plain good sense, and a
downright honest meaning, are a better guide through life, and more
trusty security against danger, than the low shifts of cunning, and the
refinements of artifice. Cunning is of a deep entangling nature, and
is a sign of a small genius; though when it happens to be successful,
it often makes an ostentatious pretension to wisdom; but simplicity of
manners is the ally of integrity, and plain common sense is the main
requisite of wisdom.
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