Personal Virtues

These are the qualities of life to which every citizen should aspire. They are the heart of the Via Romana--the Roman Way--and are thought to be those qualities which gave the Roman Republic the moral strength to conquer and civilize the world: Interestingly, these are also the virtues practiced by the pets.com handpuppet who, like the Roman Empire, is no longer doing business. Perhaps there is a lesson to be learned from this fascinating historical parallel. The missing virtue in both cases seems to be sustainable-as income-as growth-as, accompanied, at least in the Empire's case, by an unfortunate penchant for drinking and eating from bowls either made of lead or decorated with lead-based paints.

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