Pat sometimes seems to have aspired to the condition of the Athenian women adjured by Pericles, in his funeral oration, to "think it your greatest commendation not to be talked of one way or other".
A mere glimpse at the title page - admonishing girls to "follow your natural modesty, and think it your greatest commendation not to be talked of one way or the other" reveals a glaring incongruity between what she was doing herself and what she advised others to do.
For such an attitude wins greater commendation for those who bestow it, and inspires confidence, when later a man makes a complaint that he does so, not because he hates the person, but because he disapproves of the action.
Mr President, like so many others, I want to congratulate the Irish presidency on the success of its term of office and to say that because smaller countries have fewer resources, the success which they achieve therefore deserves greater commendation.
This is a commendation, but the greatest challenge will be to achieve comprehensive protection in all remaining schools, once the easier gains have been consolidated.
If you want to know more about individual commendations and condemnations, the New York Times did a great series of interviews in their January 29th issue.
In his dispatch to Prevost, Major General Sir Roger Hale Sheaffe, the British commander in Upper Canada, wrote that "Lieut.-Colonel Bisshopp deserves high commendation for the spirit and activity he displayed, and great credit is due the officers and men who acted under his orders".
She was excited to see the chapel, which hadn't changed at all, and amused by the ribbons of commendation that said Tres Bien if your grades were great, Bien if they were good, or Assez Bien if they were just fair to middling.
"Second Lieutenant Mueller's courage, aggressive initiative and unwavering devotion to duty at great personal risk were instrumental in the defeat of the enemy force," the commendation for his Bronze Star read.
He also sent Pinter a card of commendation about Betrayal that is, in its own staggeringly succinct fashion, almost as great as the play itself, in its plaiting of prospect and retrospect.
The board of the foundation, which includes new appointee Jay Naidoo (a Daily Maverick contributor), issued an even stronger commendation: "Archbishop Desmond Tutu is and has throughout his life been one of Africa's great voices for justice, freedom, democracy and responsible, responsive government.
