He who lives without restraint, will die without honour.

When you've made a mistake, you have to admit you've made a mistake, and correct it.

It's part of a writer's profession, as it's part of a spy's profession, to prey on the community to which he's attached, to take away information - often in secret - and to translate that into intelligence for his masters, whether it's his readership or his spy masters. And I think that both professions are perhaps rather lonely.