Loyalty in time of need is possibly one of the noblest of victories a courtier can win over himself.
Honore de BalzacThe greatest joy a petty soul can taste is to dupe a great soul and catch it in a snare.
Honore de BalzacA murderer is less loathsome to us than a spy. The murderer may have acted on a sudden mad impulse; he may be penitent and amend; but a spy is always a spy, night and day, in bed, at table, as he walks abroad; his vileness pervades every moment of his life
Honore de Balzac