[43]
And yet, as
Socrates used to express it so admirably, “the nearest 1 way to glory—a short cut, as it were—is to strive
to be what you wish to be thought to be.” For if
anyone thinks that he can win lasting glory by
pretence, by empty show, by hypocritical talk and
looks, he is very much mistaken. True glory strikes
[p. 213]
deep root and spreads its branches wide; but all
pretences soon fall to the ground like fragile
flowers, and nothing counterfeit can be lasting.
There are very many witnesses to both facts;
but, for brevity's sake, I shall confine myself to one
family: Tiberius Gracchus, Publius's son, will be
held in honour as long as the memory of Rome
shall endure; but his sons were not approved by
patriots while they lived, and since they are dead
they are numbered among those whose murder was
justifiable.
13. If, therefore, anyone wishes to win true2
glory, let him discharge the duties required by justice. And what they are has been set forth in the
course of the preceding book.
M. Tullius Cicero. De Officiis. With An English Translation. Walter Miller. Cambridge. Harvard University Press; Cambridge, Mass., London, England. 1913.
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