Off. 1.14.1Deinceps, ut erat prōpositum, dē beneficentiā ac dē līberālitāte dīcātur, quā quidem nihil est nātūrae hominis accommodātius, sed habet multās cautiōnēs.Next, as was proposed, let us speak about beneficence and liberality, than which indeed nothing is better suited to the nature of man, but it calls for many precautions. Off. 1.14.1Videndum est enim, prīmum nē obsit benignitās et iīs ipsīs, quibus benignē vidēbitur fierī et cēterīs, deinde nē maior benignitās sit quam facultātēs, tum ut prō dignitāte cuique tribuātur;For we must see, first, that kindness does not harm either those very people to whom it will seem to be shown kindly or anyone else; next, that the kindness is not greater than our means; then, that to each it is given according to his worth; Off. 1.14.1id enim est iūstitiae fundāmentum, ad quam haec referenda sunt omnia.for that is the foundation of justice, to which all these things must be referred. Off. 1.14.1Nam et quī grātificantur cuipiam, quod obsit illī, cui prōdesse velle videantur, nōn beneficī neque līberālēs, sed perniciōsī assentātōrēs iūdicandī sunt, et quī aliīs nocent, ut in aliōs līberālēs sint, in eādem sunt iniūstitiā, ut sī in suam rem aliēna convertant.For those who do someone a favour that harms the very person they seem to wish to help are to be judged not beneficent or liberal but ruinous flatterers; and those who injure some people in order to be liberal to others are guilty of the same injustice as if they were turning others' property to their own use.
Off. 1.14.43Sunt autem multī, et quidem cupidī splendōris et glōriae, quī ēripiunt aliīs, quod aliīs largiantur, iīque arbitrantur sē beneficōs in suōs amīcōs vīsum īrī, sī locuplētent eōs quācumque ratiōne.There are, moreover, many people, and those indeed eager for splendour and glory, who snatch from some what they may lavish on others, and they think that they will be seen as beneficent towards their friends if they enrich them by any means whatever. Off. 1.14.43Id autem tantum abest ab officiō, ut nihil magis officiō possit esse contrārium.But this is so far from duty that nothing could be more contrary to duty. Off. 1.14.43Videndum est igitur, ut eā līberālitāte ūtāmur, quae prōsit amīcīs, noceat nēminī.We must see to it, therefore, that we practise the kind of liberality which helps our friends and harms no one. Off. 1.14.43Quārē L. Sullae, C. Caesaris pecūniārum trānslātiō ā iūstīs dominīs ad aliēnōs nōn dēbet līberālis vidērī;Therefore the transfer of money by Lucius Sulla and Gaius Caesar from its rightful owners to strangers ought not to seem liberal; Off. 1.14.43nihil est enim līberāle, quod nōn idem iūstum.for nothing is liberal which is not also just.
Off. 1.14.44Alter locus erat cautiōnis, nē benignitās maior esset quam facultātēs, quod, quī benigniōrēs volunt esse, quam rēs patitur, prīmum in eō peccant, quod iniūriōsī sunt in proximōs;The second point of caution was that kindness should not be greater than our means, because those who wish to be more generous than their resources allow go wrong first in this, that they do injury to their nearest; Off. 1.14.44quās enim cōpiās hīs et suppeditārī aequius est et relinquī, eās trānsferunt ad aliēnōs.for the wealth which it is fairer should be supplied to them and left to them, they transfer to strangers. Off. 1.14.44Īnest autem in tālī līberālitāte cupiditās plērumque rapiendī et auferendī per iniūriam, ut ad largiendum suppetant cōpiae.Besides, in liberality of this kind there is generally a desire to seize and carry off wrongfully, so that there may be resources enough for lavish giving. Off. 1.14.44Vidēre etiam licet plērōsque nōn tam nātūrā līberālēs quam quādam glōriā ductōs, ut beneficī videantur, facere multa, quae proficīscī ab ostentātiōne magis quam ā voluntāte videantur.One may see, too, that very many people, not so much liberal by nature as led by a kind of love of glory, do many things in order to seem beneficent, things which seem to spring from display rather than from goodwill.
Off. 1.14.44Tālis autem simulātiō vānitātī est coniūnctior quam aut līberālitātī aut honestātī.Such pretence, however, is more closely allied to vanity than to either liberality or honour. Off. 1.14.45Tertium est prōpositum, ut in beneficentiā dīlēctus esset dignitātis;The third point proposed was that in beneficence there should be a discrimination according to worth; Off. 1.14.45in quō et mōrēs eius erunt spectandī, in quem beneficium cōnferētur, et animus ergā nōs et commūnitās ac societās vītae et ad nostrās ūtilitātēs officia ante collāta;in which we must consider both the character of the person on whom the benefit will be conferred, and his feeling towards us, and the fellowship and partnership of our lives, and the services previously rendered for our advantage; Off. 1.14.45quae ut concurrant omnia, optābile est;that all these should coincide is desirable; Off. 1.14.45sī minus, plūrēs causae maiōrēsque ponderis plūs habēbunt.if not, the more numerous and the weightier considerations will have the greater weight.