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lay down his life in their behalf. For he will surrender wealth and
power and all the goods that men struggle to win, if he can secure nobility for himself;
since he would prefer an hour of rapture to a long period of mild enjoyment, a year of
noble life to many years of ordinary existence, one great and glorious exploit to many
small successes. And this is doubtless the case with those who give their lives for
others; thus they choose great nobility for themselves. Also the virtuous man is ready to
forgo money if by that means his friends may gain more money; for thus, though his friend
gets money, he himself achieves nobility, and so he assigns the greater good to his own
share.
[10]
And he behaves in the same manner as regards
honors and offices also: all these things he will relinquish to his friend, for this is
noble and praiseworthy for himself. He is naturally therefore thought to be virtuous, as
he chooses moral nobility in preference to all other things. It may even happen that he
will surrender to his friend the performance of some achievement, and that it may be
nobler for him to be the cause of his friend's performing it than to perform it himself.
[11]
Therefore in all spheres of praiseworthy conduct it is manifest that the good man takes
the larger share of moral nobility for himself.