Off. 1.22.1Sed cum plērīque arbitrentur rēs bellicās maiōrēs esse quam urbānās, minuenda est haec opīniō.But since most people think that achievements in war are greater than those in civil life, this opinion must be scaled down. Off. 1.22.1Multī enim bella saepe quaesīvērunt propter glōriae cupiditātem, atque id in magnīs animīs ingeniīsque plērumque contingit, eōque magis, sī sunt ad rem mīlitārem aptī et cupidī bellōrum gerendōrum;For many have often sought wars from the desire for glory, and this generally happens in great spirits and talents, and all the more if they are suited to soldiering and eager to wage wars; Off. 1.22.1vērē autem sī volumus iūdicāre, multae rēs exstitērunt urbānae maiōrēs clāriōrēsque quam bellicae.but if we wish to judge truly, there have been many achievements in civil life greater and more glorious than those in war. Off. 1.22.75Quamvīs enim Themistoclēs iūre laudētur et sit eius nōmen quam Solōnis illūstrius citētur que Salamīs clārissimae testis, victōriae quae antepōnātur cōnsiliō Solōnis, eī quō prīmum cōnstituit, Arēopagītās nōn minus praeclārum hoc quam illud iūdicandum;estFor although Themistocles is rightly praised, and his name is more illustrious than Solon's, and Salamis is cited as witness to a most glorious victory, which is set above the counsel of Solon by which he first established the Areopagites, this is to be judged no less splendid than that; Off. 1.22.75illud enim semel prōfuit, hoc semper prōderit cīvitātī;for that was of benefit once, this will always benefit the state; Off. 1.22.75hōc cōnsiliō lēgēs Athēniēnsium, hōc maiōrum īnstitūta servantur;by this counsel the laws of the Athenians, by this the institutions of their ancestors are preserved; Off. 1.22.75et Themistoclēs quidem nihil dīxerit, in quō ipse Arēopagum adiūverit, at ille vērē ā sē adiūtum Themistoclem;and Themistocles could not say anything in which he himself had helped the Areopagus, but the Areopagus could truly say that Themistocles had been helped by it; Off. 1.22.75est enim bellum gestum cōnsiliō senātūs eius, quī ā Solōne erat cōnstitūtus.for the war was waged by the counsel of that senate which had been established by Solon.
Off. 1.22.76Licet eadem dē Pausaniā Lȳsandrōque dīcere, quōrum rēbus gestīs quamquam imperium Lacedaemoniīs partum putātur, tamen nē minimā quidem ex parte Lycurgī lēgibus et disciplīnae cōnferendī sunt;One may say the same about Pausanias and Lysander, by whose achievements, although empire is thought to have been won for the Spartans, yet they are not to be compared even in the smallest degree with the laws and discipline of Lycurgus; Off. 1.22.76quīn etiam ob hās ipsās causās et parentiōrēs habuērunt exercitūs et fortiōrēs.indeed, it was for these very reasons that they had armies both more obedient and braver. Off. 1.22.76Mihi quidem neque puerīs nōbīs M. Scaurus C. Mariō neque, cum versārēmur in rē pūblicā, Q. Catulus Cn. Pompeiō cēdere vidēbātur;To me, at least, it did not seem that Marcus Scaurus yielded to Gaius Marius when we were boys, or Quintus Catulus to Gnaeus Pompey when I was engaged in public life; Off. 1.22.76parvī enim sunt forīs arma, nisi est cōnsilium domī;for arms abroad are of little worth unless there is counsel at home; Off. 1.22.76nec plūs Āfricānus, singulāris et vir et imperātor, in exscindendā Numantiā reī pūblicae prōfuit quam eōdem tempore P. Nāsīca prīvātus, cum Ti. Gracchum interēmit;nor did Africanus, an exceptional man and general, do more service to the state in destroying Numantia than Publius Nasica, a private citizen, did at the same time when he killed Tiberius Gracchus; Off. 1.22.76quamquam haec quidem rēs nōn sōlum ex domesticā est ratiōne (attingit etiam bellicam, quoniam vī manūque cōnfecta est), sed tamen id ipsum est gestum cōnsiliō urbānō sine exercitū.although this deed indeed does not belong only to the domestic sphere (it touches on the military too, since it was accomplished by force and violence), but still it was itself carried out by civil counsel, without an army.
Off. 1.22.77Illud autem optimum est, in quod invādī solēre ab improbīs et invidīs audiō: ""Cēdant arma togae, concēdat laurea laudī."" Ut enim aliōs omittam, nōbīs rem pūblicam gubernantibus nōnne togae arma cessērunt?But that line is best, which I hear is regularly attacked by the wicked and envious: 'Let arms yield to the toga, the laurel give place to praise.' For, to pass over others, when I was steering the state, did not arms yield to the toga? Off. 1.22.77neque enim perīculum in rē pūblicā fuit gravius umquam nec maius ōtium.For never was there graver danger in the state, nor greater peace. Off. 1.22.77Ita cōnsiliīs dīligentiāque nostrā celeriter dē manibus audācissimōrum cīvium dēlapsa arma ipsa cecidērunt.Thus by my counsel and diligence the arms themselves quickly slipped from the hands of the most reckless citizens and fell to the ground. Off. 1.22.78Quae rēs igitur gesta umquam in bellō tanta?What deed so great, then, was ever done in war? Off. 1.22.78quī triumphus cōnferendus?What triumph is to be compared with it? Off. 1.22.78licet enim mihi, M. fīlī, apud tē glōriārī, ad quem et hērēditās huius glōriae et factōrum imitātiō pertinet.For I may boast before you, my son Marcus, to whom belong both the inheritance of this glory and the duty of imitating these deeds.
Off. 1.22.78Mihi quidem certē vir abundāns bellicīs laudibus, Cn. Pompeius, multīs audientibus hoc tribuit, ut dīceret frūstrā sē triumphum tertium dēportātūrum fuisse, nisi meō in rem pūblicam beneficiō, ubi triumphāret, esset habitūrus.To me, at any rate, a man abounding in military honours, Gnaeus Pompey, in the hearing of many, paid this tribute, saying that he would have brought home his third triumph in vain if he had not been going to have, thanks to my service to the state, a place in which to celebrate it. Off. 1.22.78Sunt igitur domesticae fortitūdinēs nōn īnferiōrēs mīlitāribus;There are, therefore, kinds of courage at home not inferior to those in war; Off. 1.22.78in quibus plūs etiam quam in hīs operae studiīque pōnendum est.and on these even more effort and zeal must be spent than on the others.