1And since we are covering everything, or at least that is certainly our wish, we must also say what sort of house we think a man of rank and a leading citizen should have; its end is use, to which the plan of the building must be adapted, and yet care must also be taken for comfort and dignity. 1We have heard that it was to the honour of Gnaeus Octavius, the first of that family to be made consul, that he had built on the Palatine a splendid house full of dignity; 1since crowds came to see it, it was thought to have won votes for its owner, a new man, in his bid for the consulship; 1Scaurus demolished it and added it as an extension to his own house.
1And so the former was the first to bring a consulship into his house, while the latter, the son of a very great and distinguished man, brought into his enlarged house not only defeat at the polls but also disgrace and ruin. 139For dignity should be enhanced by a house, not sought entirely from a house; nor should the owner be honoured by the house, but the house by the owner; and, as in other things one must take account not only of oneself but of others too, so in the house of a distinguished man, into which many guests must be received and a crowd of men of every sort admitted, care must be taken for spaciousness; 139otherwise a large house often becomes a disgrace to its owner, if there is emptiness in it, and especially if under another owner it used to be thronged.
139For it is hateful when passers-by say: 'O ancient house, alas, how unlike the master who masters you now! 139' And this indeed may be said of many houses in these times. 140But we must take care, especially if you are building yourself, not to go beyond due measure in expense and magnificence; 140in this sphere there is much harm even in the example set. 140For most people zealously imitate the deeds of leading men, especially in this respect: take Lucius Lucullus, a very great man; who imitated his virtue? 140But how many have imitated the magnificence of his villas! 140For these certainly a limit must be set, and they must be brought back to moderation.
140And the same moderation must be carried over into every use and refinement of life. 140But enough of this. 141In undertaking any action three things must be kept in view: first, that appetite obey reason, than which nothing is better suited to the performance of duties; next, that we observe how important the thing is that we wish to accomplish, so that neither more nor less care and effort is taken up than the case demands. 141The third is that we take care that whatever concerns a gentlemanly appearance and dignity is kept within bounds. 141And the best measure is to keep to propriety itself, which we spoke of before, and not to go further.
141Of these three, however, the most important is that appetite should obey reason.