Timid men prefer the calm of despotism to the tempestuous sea of liberty.

Romance is tempestuous. Love is calm.

The willow which bends to the tempest often escapes better than the oak which resists it and so in great calamities it sometimes happens that light and frivolous spirits recover their elasticity and presence of mind sooner than those of a loftier character.

God has cared for these trees saved them from drought disease avalanches and a thousand tempests and floods. But he cannot save them from fools.