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They had good reason to feel so, for while it is a
splendid thing to become distinguished for some one excellence, it is still more
splendid to combine all the qualities of which a man of sense might justly feel
proud. From the following examples this will be clear: we shall find that Aeacus
and Rhadamanthys were beloved by the gods for their discretion, Heracles, Castor
and Pollux for their courage, and Ganymedes, Adonis, and others like them for
their beauty, so that I at any rate am not astonished at those who covet your
friendship but at those who are not so disposed. For when some, through sharing
in one or another of the qualities I have mentioned, have been deemed worthy of
the company of the gods, surely to a mere mortal it is the heights of desire to
become the friend of one who has become the proud possessor of all good
qualities.
Demosthenes. Demosthenes with an English translation by Norman W. DeWitt, Ph.D., and Norman J. DeWitt, Ph.D. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1949.
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