Tell me, would you not be captivated by the sight of such a mighty structure even if it did not cover you, guard you, cherish you and give you birth, and permeate you with its spirit? As the heavenly bodies have primarily their use, and are necessary and vital to us, while it is their majesty that wholly occupies our minds, so virtue in general, and particularly that of gratitude, while it does indeed bestow much upon us, does not wish to be cherished because of this; it has in it something more, and he who counts it merely among the useful things has not properly comprehended it. Is a man grateful because it is to his advantage? Accordingly, also,to the extent that it is to his advantage? But Virtue does not open her door to a niggardly lover; he must come to her with an open purse. It is the ungrateful man who thinks: “I should have liked to return gratitude, but I fear the expense, I fear the danger, I shrink from giving offense; I would rather consult my own interest.” It is not possible to render men grateful and ungrateful by the same line of reasoning; as their actions are different, their intentions are different. The one is ungrateful, although he ought not to be, because it is to his interest; the other is grateful, although it is not to his interest, because he ought to be.