ashamed before any who deceives none? Ceasing from all wrong he can never be wronged; ceasing from all deceit he can never be deceived.
The righteous man, performing all his work with scrupulous diligence, and living above sin, is invulnerable at every point. He who has slain the inward enemies of virtue can never be brought low by any outward enemy; neither does he need to seek any protection against them, righteousness being an all-sufficient protection.
The unrighteous man is vulnerable at almost every point; living in his passions, the slave of prejudices, impulses, and ill-formed opinions, he is continually suffering, as he imagines, at the hands of others. The slanders, attacks, and accusations of others cause him great suffering because they have a basis of truth in himself; not having the protection of righteousness, he endeavors to justify and protect himself by resorting to retaliation and specious argument, and even to subterfuge and deceit.
