This last is, I admit, the meanest and most sordid motive of all, both for those who are swayed by it and for those who venture to resort to it. *22* For things are in a bad way, when that which should be obtained by merit is attempted by money.
In his ethical discourse, Cicero condemns the practice of using money to achieve what should be earned through merit, identifying it as a sign of societal decline.
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I don't wish to depreciate life, as many men and good philosophers have often done; nor do I regret having lived, for I have done so in a way that lets me think that I was not born in vain.
Oh glorious day when I shall set out to join that heavenly conclave and company of souls, and depart from the turmoil and impurities of this world!
Don't you think that the soul which has the clearer and longer sight sees that it is starting for better things, while the soul whose vision is dimmer does not see it?
Again, is there not the fact that the wisest man ever dies with the greatest cheerfulness, the most unwise with the least?
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