La Rochefoucauld §laroch_038: We promise according to our hopes; we perform according to our fears.

We promise according to our hopes; we perform according to our fears. ["The reason why the Cardinal (Mazarin) deferred so long to grant the favours he had promised, was because he was persuaded that hope was much more capable of keeping men to their duty than gratitude."--Fragments Historiques. Racine.]