We must be as courteous to a man as we are to a picture, which we are willing to give the advantage of a good light.
Source: The Conduct of Life, Beauty, 1860.
-- Ralph Waldo Emerson, (May 25 1803-1882), US philosopher, poet, essayist; He was the main spokesman of his time for moral optimism and belief in the individual: Self-Reliance, 1844.