Francois, duc de La Rochefoucauld, moralist

Perfect valor is to behave, without witnesses, as one would act were all the world watching. -Francois, duc de La Rochefoucauld, moralist (1613-1680)
This assumes that one would always act with valor when all the world was watching. In these days, however, valor is not universally applauded, in fact often ridiculed, so that it seems that in most contexts one is more likely to act with valor when no one is watching. It is a sad commentary on our society.