Off. 1.11.1Sunt autem quaedam officia etiam adversus eōs servanda, ā quibus iniūriam accēperīs.There are, moreover, certain duties to be observed even towards those from whom you have received wrong. Off. 1.11.1Est enim ulcīscendī et pūniendī modus;For there is a limit to revenge and punishment; Off. 1.11.1atque haud sciō an satis sit eum, quī lacessierit, iniūriae suae paenitēre, ut et ipse nē quid tāle posthāc et cēterī sint ad iniūriam tardiōrēs.and I am inclined to think it is enough that the one who gave provocation should repent of his wrong, so that both he himself may do nothing of the kind hereafter and others may be slower to do wrong. Off. 1.11.34Atque in rē pūblicā maximē cōnservanda sunt iūra bellī.And in the state the laws of war must be most strictly observed. Off. 1.11.34Nam cum sint duo genera dēcertandī, ūnum per disceptātiōnem, alterum per vim, cumque illud proprium sit hominis, hoc bēluārum, cōnfugiendum est ad posterius, sī ūtī nōn licet superiōre.For since there are two ways of settling a dispute, one through discussion, the other through force, and since the former is proper to man, the latter to beasts, one must resort to the latter if one may not use the former.
Off. 1.11.35Quārē suscipienda quidem bella sunt ob eam causam, ut sine iniūriā in pāce vīvātur, partā autem victōriā cōnservandī iī, quī nōn crūdēlēs in bellō, nōn immānēs fuērunt, ut maiōrēs nostrī Tusculānōs, Aequōs, Volscōs, Sabīnōs, Hernicōs in cīvitātem etiam accēpērunt, at Carthāginem et Numantiam funditus sustulērunt;Wars, therefore, are to be undertaken for this reason, that we may live in peace without wrong; but when victory has been won, those should be spared who have not been cruel or savage in war, as our ancestors even admitted to citizenship the Tusculans, Aequi, Volsci, Sabines and Hernici, but utterly destroyed Carthage and Numantia; Off. 1.11.35nōllem Corinthum, sed crēdō aliquid secūtōs, opportūnitātem locī maximē, nē posset aliquandō ad bellum faciendum locus ipse adhortārī.I could wish they had not destroyed Corinth, but I believe they had some aim in view, above all the advantage of its position, lest the place itself should at some time encourage the making of war. Off. 1.11.35Meā quidem sententiā pācī, quae nihil habitūra sit īnsidiārum, semper est cōnsulendum.In my opinion, at least, we should always have regard for a peace that will contain no treachery.
Off. 1.11.35In quō sī mihi esset optemperātum, sī nōn optimam, at aliquam rem pūblicam, quae nunc nūlla est, habērēmus.And if I had been heeded in this, we should have, if not the best, at least some kind of commonwealth, whereas now there is none. Off. 1.11.35Et cum iīs, quōs vī dēvīcerīs, cōnsulendum est, tum iī, quī armīs positīs ad imperātōrum fidem cōnfugient, quamvīs mūrum ariēs percusserit, recipiendī.And while we must have regard for those whom we have conquered by force, those also who lay down their arms and take refuge in the good faith of our generals must be received, even though the battering-ram has struck the wall. Off. 1.11.35In quō tantopere apud nostrōs iūstitia culta est, ut iī, quī cīvitātēs aut nātiōnēs dēvictās bellō in fidem recēpissent, eārum patrōnī essent mōre maiōrum.In this respect justice has been so greatly cultivated among our people that those who had received into their protection states or nations conquered in war became their patrons by the custom of our ancestors. Off. 1.11.36Ac bellī quidem aequitās sānctissimē fētiālī populī Rōmānī iūre perscrīpta est.And the fairness of war has been set down most scrupulously in the fetial law of the Roman people.
Off. 1.11.36Ex quō intellegī potest nūllum bellum esse iūstum, nisi quod aut rēbus repetītīs gerātur aut dēnūntiātum ante sit et indictum.From this it can be understood that no war is just unless it is waged after a demand for restitution or has been announced and declared beforehand. Off. 1.11.37M. quidem Catōnis senis est epistula ad M. fīlium, in quā scrībit sē audīsse eum missum factum esse ā cōnsule, cum in Macedoniā bellō Persicō mīles esset.There is a letter of the elder Marcus Cato to his son Marcus, in which he writes that he has heard that he was discharged by the consul while he was serving as a soldier in Macedonia in the war with Perseus. Off. 1.11.37Monet igitur, ut caveat, nē proelium ineat;He therefore warns him to take care not to enter battle; Off. 1.11.37negat enim iūs esse, quī mīles nōn sit, cum hoste pugnāre.for he says it is not lawful for one who is not a soldier to fight with the enemy.