"There are no persons more constant and firm in doing good than
those who are meek and gracious. While on the contrary, those who
allow themselves to yield to anger and to passions of the irascible
appetite are usually more inconstant, because they act only by fits
and starts. They are like torrents, which are strong and impetuous
only when in full flood but which dry up immediately afterwards,
while rivers, which represent the meek and gracious, flow on
noiselessly, tranquilly and unfailingly" (XI, 65).
