Letters 45.11

The good must in every case be necessary; but that which is necessary is not in every case a good, since certain very paltry things are indeed necessary. No one is to such an extent ignorant of the noble meaning of the word “good,” as to debase it to the level of these humdrum utilities.

Seneca, Letters to Lucilius 45.11, translated by Richard Mott Gummere