Off. 1.24.1Dē ēvertendīs autem dīripiendīsque urbibus valdē cōnsīderandum est nē quid temerē, nē quid crūdēliter.In the matter of overthrowing and plundering cities, we must take great care that nothing is done rashly, nothing cruelly. Off. 1.24.1Idque est magnī virī, rēbus agitātīs pūnīre sontēs, multitūdinem cōnservāre, in omnī fortūnā rēcta atque honesta retinēre.And this is the mark of a great man, when affairs are in turmoil, to punish the guilty, to spare the multitude, and in every fortune to hold to what is right and honourable. Off. 1.24.1Ut enim sunt, quem ad modum suprā dīxī, quī urbānīs rēbus bellicās antepōnant, sīc reperiās multōs, quibus perīculōsa et calida cōnsilia quiētīs et cōgitātīs splendidiōra et maiōra videantur.For just as there are, as I said above, those who set military affairs above civil ones, so you may find many to whom dangerous and hot-headed counsels seem more splendid and greater than calm and considered ones. Off. 1.24.83Numquam omnīnō perīculī fugā committendum est, ut imbellēs timidīque videāmur, sed fugiendum illud etiam, nē offerāmus nōs perīculīs sine causā, quō esse nihil potest stultius.We must never by shunning danger let ourselves seem unwarlike and timid, but we must also avoid exposing ourselves to dangers without cause, than which nothing can be more foolish.
Off. 1.24.83Quāpropter in adeundīs perīculīs cōnsuētūdō imitanda medicōrum est, quī leviter aegrōtantēs lēniter cūrant, graviōribus autem morbīs perīculōsās cūrātiōnēs et ancipitēs adhibēre cōguntur.Therefore in facing dangers we must imitate the practice of doctors, who treat the mildly ill gently, but with more serious diseases are compelled to apply dangerous and doubtful cures. Off. 1.24.83Quārē in tranquillō tempestātem adversam optāre dēmentis est, subvenīre autem tempestātī quāvīs ratiōne sapientis, eōque magis, sī plūs adipīscāre rē explicātā bonī quam addubitātā malī.Therefore it is the mark of a madman to wish for a storm in a calm, but of a wise man to meet the storm by any means, and all the more if you would gain more good when the matter is resolved than harm while it hangs in doubt. Off. 1.24.83Perīculōsae autem rērum āctiōnēs partim iīs sunt, quī eās suscipiunt, partim reī pūblicae.Dangerous undertakings, moreover, are dangerous partly to those who undertake them, partly to the state. Off. 1.24.83Itemque aliī dē vītā, aliī dē glōriā et benivolentiā cīvium in discrīmen vocantur.Likewise, some are brought into jeopardy of their lives, others of their glory and the goodwill of their fellow citizens.
Off. 1.24.83Promptiōrēs igitur dēbēmus esse ad nostra perīcula quam ad commūnia dīmicāreque parātius dē honōre et glōriā quam dē cēterīs commodīs.We ought therefore to be readier to face dangers to ourselves than common ones, and to fight more willingly for honour and glory than for other advantages. Off. 1.24.84Inventī autem multī sunt, quī nōn modo pecūniam, sed etiam vītam profundere prō patriā parātī essent, iīdem glōriae iactūram nē minimam quidem facere vellent, nē rē pūblicā quidem postulante;But many have been found who were ready to pour out not only their money but even their lives for their country, yet the same men were unwilling to make even the smallest sacrifice of glory, even when the state demanded it; Off. 1.24.84ut Callicratidās, quī, cum Lacedaemoniōrum dux fuisset Peloponnēsiacō bellō multaque fēcisset ēgregiē, vertit ad extrēmum omnia, cum cōnsiliō nōn pāruit eōrum, quī classem ab Arginūsīs removendam nec cum Athēniēnsibus dīmicandum putābant;like Callicratidas, who, after he had been commander of the Spartans in the Peloponnesian War and had done many things outstandingly, ruined everything in the end when he did not follow the advice of those who thought that the fleet should be withdrawn from Arginusae and that there should be no battle with the Athenians; Off. 1.24.84quibus ille respondit Lacedaemoniōs classe illā āmissā aliam parāre posse, sē fugere sine suō dēdecore nōn posse.to them he replied that the Spartans, if that fleet were lost, could build another, but that he could not flee without dishonour to himself.
Off. 1.24.84Atque haec quidem Lacedaemoniīs plaga mediocris, illa pestifera, quā, cum Cleombrotus invidiam timēns temerē cum Epamīnōndā cōnflīxisset, Lacedaemoniōrum opēs corruērunt.And this indeed was a moderate blow to the Spartans; that other was deadly, by which, when Cleombrotus, fearing unpopularity, had rashly engaged with Epaminondas, the power of the Spartans collapsed. Off. 1.24.84Quantō Q. Maximus melius!How much better Quintus Maximus did! Off. 1.24.84dē quō Ennius: " Ūnus homō nōbīs cūnctandō restituit rem.Of whom Ennius says: 'One man by delaying restored the state for us. Off. 1.24.84Noenum rūmōrēs pōnēbat ante salūtem.He did not place rumours before safety. Off. 1.24.84Ergō postque magisque virī nunc glōria clāret.Therefore now the man's glory shines the more, and ever more hereafter.' Off. 1.24.84" Quod genus peccandī vītandum est etiam in rēbus urbānīs.This kind of fault must be avoided in civil affairs too. Off. 1.24.84Sunt enim, quī, quod sentiunt, etsī optimum sit, tamen invidiae metū nōn audeant dīcere.For there are those who, from fear of unpopularity, do not dare to say what they think, even if it is the best course.