The most glorious exploits do not always furnish us with the clearest discoveries of virtue or vice in men.

Big achievements tell you surprisingly little about what a person is like. A great deal goes into a famous success besides character: circumstance, timing, other people’s work, and a strong motive to perform. Small unobserved moments are usually more revealing than the headline event.

When you are trying to judge someone, look for the offhand details rather than the accomplishments. How they treat an interruption, what they do with a small advantage, whether the story changes when it costs them. That is where the useful evidence lives.