A quick way to come to wisdom about yourself is to understand this: you are what you do. You’re not your good intentions. You’re not your noble feelings. Your deeds are what make you who you are. A man who beats his wife then cries in remorse is a wife-beater. That’s all he is. When he stops punching her — stops for good — then he has a chance to become something else. Then he can cry all he wants. Until then, his tears mean jack-diddly crap. He’s a wife beater. That’s all.
