He was the last man in the world to act on the worldly-wise maxim that an enemy should always be treated as if he may one day be a friend, and a friend as if he might become an enemy.
The earliest to give expression to it was Virgil; but the spell was soon acknowledged by the colder and more worldly-wise Horace.
The consistency of her character throughout life makes it highly probable that even at the age of fifteen she was mature enough to adopt this worldly-wise line of conduct.
Maddie would like to think of herself as worldly wise and independent but she does have a softer side which emerges every so often.
She has a daughter called Heather - a very worldly-wise teenager who nevertheless keeps lovable white rats in the sitting-room.