溫故知新 Old wisdom, today’s insight — ONGO
Wealth Gained by Unjust Means — Even Held in Hand, Can It Truly Be Called Mine?
Increasing one's wealth may itself be legitimate — but if the means are not, does that wealth still belong to me?
There is no vice more repulsive than greed.
Cicero's principle, locating the legitimacy of wealth not in outcome but in process, became a root of Roman law and Western commercial ethics. The scholastic Aquinas developed this theologically into the concept of the just price, examining the fairness of the transaction itself. Modern free-market advocates, by contrast, held that any voluntary transaction was already legitimate in itself, leaving moral judgment of process to the market's own autonomy. Who judges the legitimacy of wealth, and by what standard — this question is the old root of today's debates over market regulation.
In an age when the source of assets is questioned more often than the amount itself, this ancient principle — asking first about the justice of the process — has not aged a day.
Cicero did not deny the legitimacy of increasing one's wealth.
📝I, Too, Stand Before It
Cicero did not deny the legitimacy of increasing one's wealth. He only attached conditions: the means must not be unjust, must harm no one, and must be gained legitimately. I recognize these conditions ask about process, not outcome — not how much was earned, but how. I too consider today how much of what I have gained I could proudly explain, right down to the process.
✍️Your Answer
The lineage of the ancients ends here. Now it is your turn before the question. There is no right answer — only how you, today, would answer.
🔒 This answer is stored only on your device. It is never sent to a server.
This is not a museum of answers but a lineage of questions. All sources are public-domain texts; the lineage and reflection are 100% original ONGO content.
