e, and he must have their
respect and confidence, if he wishes to sail along in smooth waters. He
cannot be too particular in keeping faithfully and liberally every
promise or engagement he may make to them. One whose perfect
truthfulness is even suspected by his brethren at the Bar has always an
uneasy time of it. He will be constantly mortified by observing
precautions taken with him which are not used with others. It is not
only morally wrong but dangerous to mislead an opponent, or put him on
a wrong scent in regard to the case. It would be going too far to say
that it is ever advisable to expose the weakness of a client's cause to
an adversary, who may be unscrupulous in taking advantage of it; but it
may be safely said, that he who sits down deliberately to plot a
surprise upon his opponent, and which he knows can succeed only by its
being a surprise, deserves to fall, and in all probability will fall,
into the trap which his own hands have laid. "Whoso diggeth a pit," says
the wise man, "shall fall therein, and he that rolleth a stone, it will
return upon him." If he should succeed, he will have gained with his
success not the admiration and esteem, but the distrust and dislike of
one of his associates as long as he lives. He should never unnecessarily
have a personal difficulty with a professional brother. He should
neither give nor provoke insult. Nowhere more than at the Bar is that
advice valuable:

"Beware
Of entrance to a quarrel; but being in,
Bear it that the opposed may beware of thee."

There is one more caution to be given under this head. Let him shun most
carefully the reputation of a sharp practitioner. Let him be liberal to
the slips and oversights of his opponent wherever he can do so, and in
plain cases not shelter himself behind the instructions of his client.
The client has no right to require him to be illiberal--and he should
throw up his brief sooner than do what revolts against his own sense of
what is demanded by honor and propriety.

Nothing is more certain than that the practitioner will find, in the
long run, the good opinion of his professional brethren of more
importance than that of what is commonly called the public. The
foundations of the reputation of every truly great lawyer will be
discovered to have been laid here. Sooner or later, the real public--the
business men of the community, who have important lawsuits, and are
valuable clients