Ergo non minus rubore quam praemiis stimulabantur ne clientulorum loco potius quam patronorum numerarentur, ne traditae a maioribus necessitudines ad alios transirent, ne tamquam inertes et non suffecturi honoribus aut non impetrarent aut  impetratos male tuerentur.
Thus it was a sense of shame quite as much as material reward that gave them an incentive. They wanted to be ranked with patrons rather than poor dependents; they could not bear to let inherited connections pass into the hands of strangers; and they had to avoid the reputation for apathy and incompetence that would either keep them from obtaining office or make their official careers a failure.
final_alignments\Tacitus_Dialogus.json