Many have deceived me and many have been found wanting. But I do not repent of my association with them. The most practical, the most dignified way of going on in the world is to take people at their word, when you have no positive reason to the contrary. I believe in trusting. Trust begets trust.
Suspicion is foetid and only stinks.
He who trusts has never yet lost in the world. 102 A breach of promise shakes me to my root, especially when I am in any way connected with the author of the breach. And if it cost my life which, after all, at the age of seventy has no insurance value, I should most willingly give it in order to secure due performance of a sacred and solemn promise. To my knowledge, throughout my public and private career, I have never broken a promise. They say I claim to understand human nature as no one else does.