A great quote from The Many Deaths of the Black Company by Glen Cook, spoken by the narrator, Sleepy:
"A law as ancient as coinage itself says bad money will drive out good. The same is true of principles, ethics, and rules of conduct. If you always do the easier thing, then you cannot possibly remain steadfast when it becomes necessary to take a difficult stand. You must do what you know to be right. And you do know. Ninety-nine times out of a hundred you do know and you are just making excuses because the right thing is so hard, or just inconvenient."
