If the Cap Fits: “his character remained untinctured by the virtues…” (Tacitus)

Tacitus-statue-building-Parliament-Vienna (1)William Rees Mogg, on the Prime Minister's morally bankrupt ad hominem attack on Sir Keir Starmer, an attack that is as scurrilous as it is dangerous ( as subsequent events have proved) “It seemed to me a perfectly fair point to use.”
 
Such morally vacuous cynicism and ignorance is now the natural and habitual recourse of a Cabinet, Party and Government unwilling "to do the right thing", a phrase David Cameron made a Conservative manifesto mantra. "Perfectly fair" is a judgement that presupposes moral values in which truth, justice and goodness are key components. Nothing in that whole disgraceful episode leads to anywhere near such virtues.
 
Speaking of virtues, this in a text from a good friend last night, who actually reads the classics and learns from them: referring to one of Nero's henchmen, Carrinas Secundus – "He was a very well educated outrageous rogue who pillaged the provinces for cash. In translation Tacitus describes him as 'a master of Greek philosophy but his character remained untinctured by the virtues.'"
 
And as my friend commented, "This reminds me of Boris."

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