A rose asked a thorn, “What are your thorns for?”
The thorn answered, “There are no roses without a thorn.”
The rose said, “However, they pick me.”
The thorn said, “It’s because of my thorns that I live longer.”
True greatness is cultivated through its virtues: humanity, wisdom, justice, love, tenacity, prudence, and all noble qualities. Without these attributes, greatness loses its soul and becomes as poor and wretched as misery itself.