Off. 1.16.1Optimē autem societās hominum coniūnctiōque servābitur, sī, ut quisque erit coniūnctissimus, ita in eum benignitātis plūrimum cōnferētur.But the society and union of men will be best preserved if the most kindness is conferred on each in proportion as he is most closely bound to us. Off. 1.16.1Sed, quae nātūrae prīncipia sint commūnitātis et societātis hūmānae, repetendum vidētur altius;But it seems we must go further back to see what natural principles there are of human fellowship and society; Off. 1.16.1est enim prīmum, quod cernitur in ūniversī generis hūmānī societāte.for the first is that which is seen in the society of the whole human race. Off. 1.16.1Eius autem vinculum est ratiō et ōrātiō, quae docendō, discendō, commūnicandō, disceptandō, iūdicandō conciliat inter sē hominēs coniungitque nātūrālī quādam societāte;Its bond is reason and speech, which by teaching, learning, communicating, debating and judging unite men with one another and join them in a kind of natural society; Off. 1.16.1neque ūllā rē longius absumus ā nātūrā ferārum, in quibus īnesse fortitūdinem saepe dīcimus, ut in equīs, in leōnibus, iūstitiam, aequitātem, bonitātem nōn dīcimus;and in nothing are we further removed from the nature of wild beasts, in which we often say there is courage, as in horses and in lions, but we do not say there is justice, fairness or goodness; Off. 1.16.1sunt enim ratiōnis et ōrātiōnis expertēs.for they have no share in reason and speech.
Off. 1.16.51Ac lātissimē quidem patēns hominibus inter ipsōs, omnibus inter omnēs societās haec est;And this indeed is the society that extends most widely, of men with one another, of all with all; Off. 1.16.51in quā omnium rērum, quās ad commūnem hominum ūsum nātūra genuit, est servanda commūnitās, ut, quae discrīpta sunt lēgibus et iūre cīvīlī, haec ita teneantur, ut sit cōnstitūtum lēgibus ipsīs, cētera sīc observentur, ut in Graecōrum prōverbiō est, amīcōrum esse commūnia omnia.in it the common possession of all the things which nature has produced for the common use of men must be preserved, so that what has been assigned by statutes and civil law should be held as the laws themselves have laid down, and the rest should be treated as the Greek proverb has it: 'Among friends all things are common.' Off. 1.16.51Omnium autem commūnia hominum videntur ea, quae sunt generis eius, quod ab Enniō positum in ūnā rē trānsferrī in permultās potest: " Homō, quī errantī cōmiter mōnstrat viam, Quasi lūmen dē suō lūmine accendat, facit.Now the things common to all men seem to be those of the kind which Ennius set out in a single instance that can be applied to very many: 'The man who kindly shows the way to one who wanders does as if he lit a light from his own light.
Off. 1.16.51Nihilō minus ipsī lūcet, cum illī accenderit.It shines no less for him when he has lit the other's.' Off. 1.16.51" Ūnā ex rē satis praecipit, ut, quicquid sine dētrīmentō commodārī possit, id tribuātur vel ignōtō;By one instance he teaches well enough that whatever can be lent without loss should be given even to a stranger; Off. 1.16.52ex quō sunt illa commūnia: nōn prohibēre aquā prōfluente, patī ab igne ignem capere, sī quī velit, cōnsilium fidēle dēlīberantī dare, quae sunt iīs ūtilia, quī accipiunt, dantī nōn molesta.from this come those common rules: not to keep anyone from running water, to let someone take fire from your fire if he wishes, to give honest counsel to one who is deliberating; things which are useful to those who receive them and no burden to the giver. Off. 1.16.52Quārē et hīs ūtendum est et semper aliquid ad commūnem ūtilitātem afferendum.Therefore we should both make use of these and always contribute something to the common good. Off. 1.16.52Sed quoniam cōpiae parvae singulōrum sunt, eōrum autem, quī hīs egeant, īnfīnīta est multitūdō, vulgāris līberālitās referenda est ad illum Enniī fīnem: "Nihilō minus ipsī lūcet," ut facultās sit, quā in nostrōs sīmus līberālēs.But since the resources of individuals are small, while the number of those who need them is endless, ordinary liberality must be referred to that limit of Ennius, 'It shines no less for him', so that we may have the means with which to be liberal to our own.