''If everybody minded their own business,'' the Duchess said in a hoarse growl, ''the world would go round a deal faster than it does.''

Mutual respect implies discretion and reserve even in love itself; it means preserving as much liberty as possible to those whose life we share. We must distrust our instinct of intervention, for the desire to make one's own will prevail is often disguised under the mask of solicitude.

Everything intercepts us from ourselves.