Book 3
82.7
And if in any case oaths of reconcilement were exchanged, for the moment only were they binding, since each side had given them merely to meet the emergency, having at the time no other resource; but he who, when the opportunity offered and he saw his enemy off his guard, was the first to pluck up courage, found his revenge sweeter because of the violated pledge than if he had openly attacked, and took into account not only the greater safety of such a course, but also that, by winning through deceit, he was gaining besides the prize of astuteness. And in general it is easier for rogues to get themselves called clever than for the stupid to be reputed good,Or, omitting ὄντες, “And in general men are more willing to be called clever rogues than good simpletons.” and they are ashamed of the one but glory in the other. The cause of all these evils was the desire to rule which greed and ambition inspire, and also, springing from them, that ardourOr, τὸ πρὸθυμον “party-spirit.” which belongs to men who once have become engaged in factious rivalry.
