In the Republic, Cephalus says this: And the great blessing of riches, I do not say to every man, but to a good man, is, that he has had no occasion to deceive

In the Republic, Cephalus says this: And the great blessing of riches, I do not say to every man, but to a good man, is, that he has had no occasion to deceive or to defraud others, either intentionally or unintentionally; and when he departs to the world below he is not in any apprehension about offerings due to the gods or debts which he owes to men. Now to this peace of mind the possession of wealth greatly contributes; and therefore I say, that, setting one thing against another, of the many advantages which wealth has to give, to a man of sense this is in my opinion the greatest. I think it is inaccurate to think that people from earlier times would have traded their riches for consumer goods - at least, not the thoughtful ones. The great advantages of riches are freedom, security, peace of mind.