You only tasted the water. I tasted the gift. The water was simply the container for an act of loving-kindness and nothing could be sweeter.

It is much more difficult to know what is fair than what is unfair

No one is born with good character; it's not a hereditary trait. And it isn't determined by a single noble act. Character is established by conscientious adherence to moral values, not by lofty rhetoric or good intentions.

What a person says and does in ordinary moments when when no one is looking reveals more about true character than grand actions taken while in the spotlight. Our true character is revealed by normal, consistent, everyday attitudes and behavior, not by self-conscious words or deeds or rare acts of moral courage.

Character is the moral strength to do the right thing even when it costs more than you want to pay.

Ethics is not about the way things are, it is about the way things ought to be.

Some jobs require a more consistent challenge to moral courage than others. Politics is one. In such a setting terrifically good men and women will still be found wanting occasionally. No one does the right thing all the time. It would be more generous and fair to consider their batting average than to judge them only by their last worst act.