many advantages which wealth has to give, to a man of sense this is in my opinion the greatest."
"Well said Cephalus" I replied "but as concerning justice, what is it?-- to speak the truth and to
offerings due to the gods or debts which he owes to men. Now to this peace of mind the possession of wealth greatly contributes; and therefore I say, that, setting one thing against another, of the
good man, is, that he has had no occasion to deceive or to defraud others, either intentionally or unintentionally; and when he departs to the world below he is not in any apprehension about
and the companion of his journey;--hope which is mightiest to sway the restless soul of man.'
How admirable are his words! And the great blessing of riches, I do not say to every man, but to a
is conscious of no sin, sweet hope, as Pindar charmingly says, is the kind nurse of his age
'Hope, he says, cherishes the soul of him who lives in justice and holiness and is the nurse of his age
done to others. And when he finds that the sum of his transgressions is great he will many a time like a child start up in his sleep for fear, and he is filled with dark forebodings. But to him who
or because he is now drawing nearer to that other place, he has a clearer view of these things; suspicions and alarms crowd thickly upon him, and he begins to reflect and consider what wrongs he has
below and the punishment which is exacted there of deeds done here were once a laughing matter to him, but now he is tormented with the thought that they may be true: either from the weakness of age,
expect easily to convince others. For let me tell you, Socrates, that when a man thinks himself to be near death, fears and cares enter into his mind which he never had before; the tales of a world
said.
"Yes, that is very true, but may I ask another question? What do you consider to be the greatest blessing which you have reaped from your wealth?"
"One" he said "of which I could not
love of it for the sake of use and profit which is common to them and all men. And hence they are very bad company, for they can talk about nothing but the praises of wealth." "That is true." he
them; the makers of fortunes have a second love of money as a creation of their own, resembling the affection of authors for their own poems, or of parents for their children, besides that natural
asked you the question" I replied "because I see that you are indifferent about money, which is a characteristic rather of those who have inherited their fortunes than of those who have acquired
now; but my father Lysanias reduced the property below what it is at present: and I shall be satisfied if I leave to these my sons not less but a little more than I received."
"That was why I
money I have been midway between my father and grandfather: for my grandfather, whose name I bear, doubled and trebled the value of his patrimony, that which he inherited being much what I possess
with himself."
"May I ask, Cephalus, whether your fortune was for the most part inherited or acquired by you?"
"Acquired! Socrates; do you want to know how much I acquired? In the art of making
been famous.' And to those who are not rich and are impatient of old age, the same reply may be made; for to the good poor man old age cannot be a light burden, nor can a bad rich man ever have peace
Seriphian who was abusing him and saying that he was famous, not for his own merits but because he was an Athenian: `If you had been a native of my country or I of yours, neither of us would have
comforter."
"You are right" he replied "they are not convinced: and there is something in what they say; not, however, so much as they imagine. I might answer them as Themistocles answered the
not convinced by you when you speak thus; they think that old age sits lightly upon you, not because of your happy disposition, but because you are rich, and wealth is well known to be a great
disposition youth and age are equally a burden."
I listened in admiration, and wanting to draw him out, that he might go on "Yes, Cephalus" I said "but I rather suspect that people in general are
attributed to the same cause, which is not old age, but men's characters and tempers; for he who is of a calm and happy nature will hardly feel the pressure of age, but to him who is of an opposite
hold, then, as Sophocles says, we are freed from the grasp not of one mad master only, but of many. The truth is, Socrates, that these regrets, and also the complaints about relations, are to be
have often occurred to my mind since, and they seem as good to me now as at the time when he uttered them. For certainly old age has a great sense of calm and freedom; when the passions relax their
