For while the most fatal blow to friendship in the majority of cases was the lust of gold, in the case of the best men it was a rivalry for office and reputation, by which it had often happened that the most violent enmity had arisen between the closest friends.
In a philosophical discussion on the challenges to friendship, this passage identifies ambition and greed as primary destroyers of even the strongest bonds.
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But while they steer clear of the one kind of injustice, they fall into the other: they are traitors to social life, for they contribute to it none of their interest, none of their effort, none of their means.
Thus apparent expediency is outweighed when placed in the balance against moral rectitude.
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