In justice to our own best interests we should search every crook and cranny of our hearts and minds lest we venture forth with any such impedimenta.

There is no excuse, and we have no one to blame if we allow any of them to journey along with us.

We know whether they are there or not just as we would know _Courage, Trust and Honor_ were they perched behind us on the saddle.
It is idle to squeal if through association with the former we find ourselves ditched before we are well under way--for it is coming to us, sooner or later.

We might go _far_, as some have done, through the lanes and alleys of ill-gotten gains and luxurious self-indulgence, but we would pay in the end.

So, why not charge them up to "profit and loss" at the start and kick them off into the gutter where they belong?
They are not for us on our eventful journey through life, and the time to get rid of them once and for all is when we are young, and mentally and physically vigorous.