In truth, prosperity tries the souls even of the wise.

The line expresses a moral-historical insight common in Roman historiography: adversity can reveal character, but success can be an even subtler test. “Prosperity” brings temptations—complacency, arrogance, greed, and the loosening of discipline—that can erode judgment and virtue. By adding “even of the wise,” the sentiment underscores that no one is immune; wisdom does not automatically protect against the corrupting effects of power and good fortune. In Sallust’s worldview, Rome’s decline is tied to the moral consequences of imperial success, so the remark also functions as a warning that collective prosperity can destabilize a polity by weakening the ethical restraints that hardship once enforced.