De Officiis 1.13

Keeping faith; fraud and force

LatinLatin and EnglishEnglish onlyRead it word by word

Off. 1.13.1Atque etiam sī quid singulī temporibus adductī hostī prōmīsērunt, est in eō ipsō fidēs cōnservanda, ut prīmō Pūnicō bellō Rēgulus captus ā Poenīs cum dē captīvīs commūtandīs Rōmam missus esset iūrāssetque sē reditūrum, prīmum, ut vēnit, captīvōs reddendōs in senātū nōn cēnsuit, deinde, cum retinērētur ā propinquīs et ab amīcīs, ad supplicium redīre māluit quam fidem hostī datam fallere.Also, if individuals, led by circumstances, have promised anything to the enemy, good faith must be kept even in that very matter, as in the First Punic War Regulus, captured by the Carthaginians, when he had been sent to Rome to negotiate an exchange of prisoners and had sworn that he would return, first, as soon as he came, proposed in the senate that the prisoners should not be returned, and then, when he was held back by his relatives and friends, chose to return to execution rather than break the faith he had given to the enemy. Off. 1.13.41Ac dē bellicīs quidem officiīs satis dictum est.And enough has been said about the duties of war. Off. 1.13.41Meminerīmus autem etiam adversus īnfimōs iūstitiam esse servandam.Let us remember, moreover, that justice must be maintained even towards the lowest.

Off. 1.13.41Est autem īnfima condiciō et fortūna servōrum, quibus nōn male praecipiunt quī ita iubent ūtī, ut mercennāriīs: operam exigendam, iūsta praebenda.Now the lowest condition and fortune is that of slaves, regarding whom those give sound advice who bid us treat them as hired labourers: work is to be required of them, and their due provided. Off. 1.13.41Cum autem duōbus modīs, id est aut vī aut fraude, fīat iniūria, fraus quasi vulpēculae, vīs leōnis vidētur;Since wrong is done in two ways, that is, either by force or by fraud, fraud seems to belong to the little fox, force to the lion; Off. 1.13.41utrumque homine aliēnissimum, sed fraus odiō digna maiōre.both are utterly foreign to man, but fraud deserves the greater hatred. Off. 1.13.41Tōtīus autem iniūstitiae nūlla capitālior quam eōrum, quī tum, cum maximē fallunt, id agunt, ut virī bonī esse videantur.But of all injustice none is more deadly than that of those who, at the very moment when they are most deceiving, act so as to seem good men. Off. 1.13.41Dē iūstitiā satis dictum.Enough has been said about justice.

Read the Latin itself: tap any word for its meaning and grammar, save words to review, and keep your place.

Read in Lectitō

Grammar in this passage: gerunds and gerundives ×6, purpose clauses ×2, indirect statement ×2

Latin vocabulary for this passage (99 words)

atque, ac (conj.)	and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants)
etiam, adv.	and now, also, too, even
sī, conj.	if
quis, qua, quid, indef. pron.	any one, anybody, anything, some one, somebody, something
singulī, -ae, -a	one at a time, single
tempus, temporis, n.	time, season
addūcō, -dūcere, -dūxī, -ductus	lead to, bring, take; induce, influence
hostis, -is, m. and f.	enemy, foe
prōmittō, -mittere, -mīsī, -missus	send or put forth, promise
sum, esse, fuī, futūrus	be
in, prep. with acc. and abl.	with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on
is, ea, id, dem. pron.	this, that; he, she, it, they
ipse, ipsa, ipsum, intensive pron.	self, himself, herself, itself, themselves; often to be rendered by very
fidēs, -eī f.	faith, trust; pledge
cōnservō, -servāre, -servāvī, -servātus	preserve, keep
ut, conj.	as; when; that; ita ut, as
prīmus, -a, -um	first, foremost
Pūnicus, -a, -um	Punic, Carthaginian; bella Pūnica: the wars with Carthage
bellum, -ī, n.	war
capiō, capere, cēpī, captus	take, catch, seize; receive, suffer; adopt
ā, ab (prep. + abl.)	away from, from; by (ā only before consonants)
cum, conj.	when, while, after; since; although
dē, prep, with abl.	down from, from, out of; about, concerning, of
captīvus, -a, -um	captive
commūtō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum	change
mittō, mittere, mīsī, missus	send
iūrō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	swear; iūs iūrandum, oath
que, enclitic conj.	and
suī, sibi, sē or sēsē, reflexive pron.	himself, herself, itself, themselves
redeō, -īre, -iī, -itus	go back, return
prīmum, adv.	first, in the first place
veniō, venīre, vēnī, ventus	come
reddō, -dere, -didī, -ditus	give back, return, restore; render
senātus, -ūs m.	senate
nōn, adv.	not
cēnseō, cēnsēre, cēnsuī, cēnsus	think, believe, consider
deinde, adv.	then, next
retineō, -tinēre, -tinuī, -tentus	hold or keep back, keep, restrain; hold fast
propinquus, -a, -um; as noun, -ī m./-a f.	near; (noun) relative
et, conj.	and; et ... et, both ... and
amīcus, -ī, m.	friend
ad, prep. with acc.	to, toward; at, near; for
supplicium, -ī, n.	punishment, torture
mālō, mālle, māluī	wish rather, prefer
quam, adv.	how? as; than; with superl., as ... as possible
dō, dare, dedī, datus	give
fallō, fallere, fefellī, falsus	deceive
bellicus, -a, -um	of war, military
quidem, adv.	in fact, indeed, certainly; nē ... quidem, not ... even
officium, -ī, n.	service; duty
satis, adv.	enough, sufficiently
dīcō, dīcere, dīxī, dictus	say, speak; diem dīcere, to appoint or set a day
meminī, meminisse	remember
autem, conj.	moreover; but, however; now
adversum (prep. + acc.; also adversus)	against, opposite
īnfimus, -a, -um	lowest (īnfimus collis: the foot of the hill)
iūstitia, -ae f.	justice, fairness
servō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	save, preserve
condiciō, -ōnis f.	terms; condition, status
fortūna, -ae, f.	fortune
servus, -ī, m.	slave, servant
quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.	who, which
male, adv.	badly, ill
praecipiō, -cipere, -cēpī, -ceptus	take beforehand, anticipate; order, charge
ita, adv.	in this manner, thus, so; ita ut, as
iubeō, iubēre, iussī, iussus	bid, order, command
ūtor, ūtī, ūsus	use
mercēnārius, -ī m.	hired man, hired worker
opera, -ae, f.	effort, work, labor
exigō, -ere, -ēgī, -āctum	drive out; finish, spend (a season)
iūstus, -a, -um	just
praebeō, -ēre, -uī, -itus	hold forth, supply, furnish, give; show, present, exhibit
duo, -ae, -o, plur. adj.	two
modus, -ī, m.	way, manner
aut, conj.	or; aut ... aut, either ... or
vīs, vīs, f.	violence, force; virtue, potency, efficacy; plur. vīrēs, -ium, strength; omnibus vīribus, with all one's strength, with might and main
fraus, fraudis, f.	deception, fraud
fīō, fierī, factus sum	be done or made, become, happen
iniūria, -ae, f.	injury, wrong, hurt, harm
quasi, conj.	as if
vulpēcula, -ae f.	little fox
leō, -ōnis, m.	lion
videō, vidēre, vīdī, vīsus	see; pass., seem
uterque, utraque, utrumque	each, either, both
homō, hominis, m.	man
aliēnus, -a, -um	belonging to another, out of place
sed, conj.	but
odium, -ī, n.	hatred
dignus, -a, -um (+ abl.)	worthy (of), deserving
magnus, -a, -um	large, big, great, mighty; loud
tōtus, -a, -um	all the, the whole or entire
iniūstitia, -ae f.	injustice, wrongdoing
nūllus, -a, -um	not any, none, no
capitālis, -e	deadly; involving death
tum, adv.	then, at that time
maximē, adv.	very greatly, exceedingly, especially
agō, agere, ēgī, āctus	drive; do; pass, lead; grātiās agere, see grātia
vir, virī, m.	man
bonus, -a, -um	good

Cicero, De Officiis I. Latin text: W. Miller, Cicero: De Officiis (Loeb, 1913), public domain; digital text from the Perseus Digital Library, CC BY-SA. Word analysis: drafted by our own tagger (trained on the hand-checked texts on this site), with every doubtful word checked by hand. English translation and section titles: written for this app, each checked against the Latin by a second reader.