The Puritan sours his pleasures by disguising them as duties.
The Muses inspire art and pretend not to notice when Mammon buys it.
Reading about ethics is about as likely to improve one's behavior as reading about sports is to make one into an athlete.
Sentimentality is the respect the cold-hearted pay to feeling.
People are reluctant to cite boredom as grounds for divorce.
Fame now wears the halo that once crowned holiness.