Roger L'Estrange

“ THERE are Many Cases, and Many Seasons, wherein, Men must either Bend or Break: But Conscience, Honour, and Good Manners, are first to be Consulted. When a Tree is Press'd with a strong Wind,the Branches may Yield, and yet the Root remain Firm, But Discretion is to Govern us, Where and when we may be Allow'd to Temporize, and where, and when not. When Bending or Breaking is the Question, and Men have No Other Choice before them, then either of Complying, or of being Undone ”

“ The Oak Upbraided the Willow, that it was Weak and Wavering, and gave way to Every Blast. The Willow made no Other Reply, then that the next Tempest should Resolve That Question. Some very little while after This Dispute, it Blew a Violent Storm. The Willow Ply’d, and gave way to the Gust, and still recover'd it self again, without receiving any Damage: But the Oak was Stubborn, and chose rather to Break then Bend.
The Moral.
A Stiff and a Stubborn Obstinacy is not so much Firmness, and Resolution, as Willfullness. A Wife and a Steady Man bends only in the Prospect of Rising again. ”

“ Men may be Stiff and Obstinate, upon a Wrong Ground, and Men may Ply, and Truckle too, upon as False a Foundation. Our Bodies may be forc'd, but our Minds Cannot: So that Humane Frailty is No Excuse for a Criminal Immorality. ”