For he went on to praise philosophy
and the freedom that it gives, and to ridicule the
things that are popularly considered blessings—
wealth and reputation, dominion and honour, yes
and purple and gold—things accounted very desirable
by most men, and till then by me also. I took it all
in with eager, wide-open soul, and at the moment I
couldn’t imagine what had come over me ; I was all
confused. Then I felt hurt because he had criticised
what was dearest to me—wealth and money and
reputation,—and I all but cried over their downfall ;