,
external goods, goods of the body, and goods of the soul, or deny that
the happy man must have all three. For no one would maintain that he
is happy who has not in him a particle of courage or temperance or
justice or prudence, who is afraid of every insect which flutters past
him, and will commit any crime, however great, in order to gratify his
lust of meat or drink, who will sacrifice his dearest friend for the
sake of half-a-farthing, and is as feeble and false in mind as a child
or a madman. These propositions are almost universally acknowledged as
soon as they are uttered, but men differ about the degree or
relative superiority of this or that good. Some think that a very
moderate amount of virtue is enough, but set no limit to their desires
of wealth, property, power, reputation, and the like. To whom we reply
by an appeal to facts, which easily prove that mankind do not
acquire or preserve virtue by the help of external goods, but external
goods by the help of virtue, and that happiness, whether consisting in
pleasure or virtue, or both, is more often found with those who are
most highly cultivated in their mind and in their character, and
have only a moderate share of external goods, than among those who
possess external goods to a useless extent but are deficient in higher
qualities; and this is not only matter of experience, but, if
reflected upon, will easily appear to be in accordance with reason.
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