[79]
23. That moral goodness which we look for in1
a lofty, high-minded spirit is secured, of course, by
moral, not by physical, strength. And yet the body
must be trained and so disciplined that it can obey
the dictates of judgment and reason in attending
to business and in enduring toil. But that moral
goodness which is our theme depends wholly upon
the thought and attention given to it by the mind.
And, in this way, the men who in a civil capacity
direct the affairs of the nation render no less important service than they who conduct its wars: by their
statesmanship oftentimes wars are either averted or
terminated; sometimes also they are declared. Upon
Marcus Cato's counsel, for example, the Third Punic
War was undertaken, and in its conduct his influence
was dominant, even after he was dead.
1 (2) Physical courage.
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