Japanese proverb of the day: "The reputation of a thousand years may be determined by the conduct of one hour" and a lesson in reputation, character and self-control

• Japanese proverb of the day (AI-generated image)A thousand years against one hour.
• That's the strange arithmetic at the heart of this Japanese proverb, and it's worth pausing on.
• The reputation of a thousand years, it says, may be determined by the conduct of one hour.