Off. 1.25.1Omnīnō quī reī pūblicae praefutūrī sunt, duo Platōnis praecepta teneant, ūnum, ut ūtilitātem cīvium sīc tueantur, ut, quaecumque agunt, ad eam referant oblītī commodōrum suōrum, alterum, ut tōtum corpus reī pūblicae cūrent, nē, dum partem aliquam tuentur, reliquās dēserant.In general, those who are going to be in charge of the state should hold to two precepts of Plato: one, that they so protect the interests of the citizens that whatever they do they refer to that, forgetting their own advantage; the other, that they care for the whole body of the state, lest, while they protect some one part, they abandon the rest. Off. 1.25.1Ut enim tūtēla, sīc prōcūrātiō reī pūblicae ad eōrum ūtilitātem, quī commissī sunt, nōn ad eōrum, quibus commissa est, gerenda est.For, like a guardianship, the stewardship of the state must be conducted for the benefit of those who have been entrusted to it, not of those to whom it has been entrusted. Off. 1.25.1Quī autem partī cīvium cōnsulunt, partem neglegunt, rem perniciōsissimam in cīvitātem indūcunt, sēditiōnem atque discordiam;But those who look after one part of the citizens and neglect another bring into the state a most ruinous thing, sedition and discord; Off. 1.25.1ex quō ēvēnit, ut aliī populārēs, aliī studiōsī optimī cuiusque videantur, paucī ūniversōrum.from which it comes about that some seem to be men of the people, others partisans of all the best men, and few seem to belong to everyone.
Off. 1.25.86Hinc apud Athēniēnsīs magnae discordiae, in nostrā rē pūblicā nōn sōlum sēditiōnēs, sed etiam pestifera bella cīvīlia;Hence the great discords among the Athenians, and in our own state not only seditions but also ruinous civil wars; Off. 1.25.86quae gravis et fortis cīvis et in rē pūblicā dignus prīncipātū fugiet atque ōderit trādetque sē tōtum reī pūblicae neque opēs aut potentiam cōnsectābitur tōtamque eam sīc tuēbitur, ut omnibus cōnsulat;these a serious and brave citizen, one worthy of leadership in the state, will shun and hate; he will give himself wholly to the state, will not pursue wealth or power, and will protect the whole of it in such a way as to look after everyone; Off. 1.25.86nec vērō crīminibus falsīs in odium aut invidiam quemquam vocābit omnīnōque ita iūstitiae honestātīque adhaerēscet, ut, dum ea cōnservet, quamvīs graviter offendat mortemque oppetat potius quam dēserat illa, quae dīxī.nor indeed will he bring anyone into hatred or ill will by false charges, and altogether he will cling so firmly to justice and honour that, so long as he preserves them, he will give any offence, however grave, and meet death rather than abandon the principles I have described.
Off. 1.25.87Miserrima omnīnō est ambitiō honōrumque contentiō, dē quā praeclārē apud eundem est Platōnem, "similiter facere eōs, quī inter sē contenderent, uter potius rem pūblicam administrāret, ut sī nautae certārent, quis eōrum potissimum gubernāret."Utterly wretched is ambition and the struggle for office, about which there is an excellent passage in the same Plato: 'those who contended among themselves as to which of them should govern the state behaved just as if sailors were to fight over which of them should be the one to steer.' Off. 1.25.87Īdemque praecipit, ut "eōs adversāriōs exīstimēmus, quī arma contrā ferant, nōn eōs, quī suō iūdiciō tuērī rem pūblicam velint," quālis fuit inter P. Āfricānum et Q. Metellum sine acerbitāte dissēnsiō.He also teaches that 'we should consider those to be adversaries who bear arms against us, not those who wish to protect the state according to their own judgement,' such as was the disagreement, without bitterness, between Publius Africanus and Quintus Metellus. Off. 1.25.88Nec vērō audiendī, quī graviter inimīcīs īrāscendum putābunt idque magnanimī et fortis virī esse cēnsēbunt;Nor indeed should we listen to those who think that one ought to be fiercely angry with one's enemies, and who judge this to be the mark of a great-spirited and brave man; Off. 1.25.88nihil enim laudābilius, nihil magnō et praeclārō virō dignius plācābilitāte atque clēmentiā.for nothing is more praiseworthy, nothing more worthy of a great and distinguished man, than readiness to be appeased and clemency.
Off. 1.25.88In līberīs vērō populīs et in iūris aequābilitāte exercendā etiam est facilitās et altitūdō animī, quae dīcitur, nē, sī īrāscāmur aut intempestīvē accēdentibus aut impudenter rogantibus, in mōrōsitātem inūtilem et odiōsam incidāmus.Among free peoples, indeed, and where there is equality before the law, one must also practise affability and what is called loftiness of mind, so that, if we grow angry with those who approach us at the wrong time or make shameless requests, we do not fall into a useless and hateful peevishness. Off. 1.25.88Et tamen ita probanda est mānsuētūdō atque clēmentia, ut adhibeātur reī pūblicae causā sevēritās, sine quā administrārī cīvitās nōn potest.And yet mildness and clemency are to be approved only so far as severity is still applied for the sake of the state, for without it a state cannot be governed. Off. 1.25.88Omnis autem et animadversiō et castīgātiō contumēliā vacāre dēbet neque ad eius, quī pūnītur aliquem aut verbīs castīgat, sed ad reī pūblicae ūtilitātem referrī.But all punishment and reproof ought to be free of insult, and should be directed not to the advantage of the man who punishes someone or rebukes him with words, but to the advantage of the state.
Off. 1.25.89Cavendum est etiam, nē maior poena quam culpa sit, et nē īsdem dē causīs aliī plectantur, aliī nē appellentur quidem.We must also take care that the punishment is not greater than the fault, and that some are not punished for the same reasons for which others are not even called to account. Off. 1.25.89Prohibenda autem maximē est īra in pūniendō;But anger above all must be kept out of punishing; Off. 1.25.89numquam enim, īrātus quī accēdet ad poenam, mediocritātem illam tenēbit, quae est inter nimium et parum, quae placet Peripatēticīs, et rēctē placet, modo nē laudārent īrācundiam et dīcerent ūtiliter ā nātūrā datam.for one who comes to inflict punishment in anger will never keep that mean which lies between too much and too little, which the Peripatetics approve, and rightly approve, if only they did not praise irascibility and say that it was given by nature for a useful purpose. Off. 1.25.89Illa vērō omnibus in rēbus repudianda est optandumque, ut iī, quī praesunt reī pūblicae, lēgum similēs sint, quae ad pūniendum nōn īrācundiā, sed aequitāte dīcuntur.But anger is to be rejected in every circumstance, and we should hope that those who preside over the state may be like the laws, which are led to punish not by anger but by equity.