Off. 1.27.1Sequitur, ut dē ūnā reliquā parte honestātis dīcendum sit, in quā verēcundia et quasi quīdam ōrnātus vītae, temperantia et modestia omnisque sēdātiō perturbātiōnum animī et rērum modus cernitur.It follows that we must speak of the one remaining part of moral goodness, in which are seen modesty and, as it were, a certain ornament of life, temperance and restraint, every calming of the disturbances of the mind, and due measure in all things. Off. 1.27.1Hōc locō continētur id, quod dīcī Latīnē decōrum potest;Under this heading is contained what can be called in Latin decorum; Off. 1.27.1Graecē enim dīcitur dicitur.for in Greek it is called prepon. Off. 1.27.1Huius vīs ea est, ut ab honestō nōn queat sēparārī;Its nature is such that it cannot be separated from the honourable; Off. 1.27.94nam et, quod decet, honestum est et, quod honestum est, decet;for what is fitting is honourable, and what is honourable is fitting; Off. 1.27.94quālis autem differentia sit honestī et decōrī, facilius intellegī quam explānārī potest.but what kind of difference there is between the honourable and the fitting can be more easily understood than explained. Off. 1.27.94Quicquid est enim, quod deceat, id tum appāret, cum antegressa est honestās.For whatever is fitting appears only when moral goodness has gone before it.
Off. 1.27.94Itaque nōn sōlum in hāc parte honestātis, dē quā hōc locō disserendum est, sed etiam in tribus superiōribus quid deceat appāret.Therefore what is fitting appears not only in this part of moral goodness, which must be discussed here, but also in the three preceding ones. Off. 1.27.94Nam et ratiōne ūtī atque ōrātiōne prūdenter et agere, quod agās, cōnsīderātē omnīque in rē quid sit vērī vidēre et tuērī decet, contrāque fallī, errāre, lābī, dēcipī tam dēdecet quam dēlīrāre et mente esse captum;For to use reason and speech wisely, to do whatever you do with deliberation, and in every matter to see and maintain what is true, is fitting; whereas to be mistaken, to err, to slip, to be deceived is as unbecoming as to rave and be out of one's mind; Off. 1.27.94et iūsta omnia decōra sunt, iniūsta contrā, ut turpia, sīc indecōra.and all just things are fitting, while unjust things, as they are shameful, so are they unbecoming. Off. 1.27.94Similis est ratiō fortitūdinis.The case of courage is similar. Off. 1.27.94Quod enim virīliter animōque magnō fit, id dignum virō et decōrum vidētur, quod contrā, id ut turpe, sīc indecōrum.For what is done in a manly way and with a great spirit seems worthy of a man and fitting; what is done otherwise, as it is shameful, so it is unbecoming.
Off. 1.27.95Quārē pertinet quidem ad omnem honestātem hoc, quod dīcō, decōrum, et ita pertinet, ut nōn reconditā quādam ratiōne cernātur, sed sit in prōmptū.Therefore this decorum I speak of belongs to all moral goodness, and belongs to it in such a way that it is not perceived by some abstruse reasoning but lies plain to see. Off. 1.27.95Est enim quiddam, idque intellegitur in omnī virtūte, quod deceat;For there is something, and it is recognised in every virtue, that is fitting; Off. 1.27.95quod cōgitātiōne magis ā virtūte potest quam rē sēparārī.and it can be separated from virtue in thought rather than in reality. Off. 1.27.95Ut venustās et pulchritūdō corporis sēcernī nōn potest ā valētūdine, sīc hoc, dē quō loquimur, decōrum tōtum illud quidem est cum virtūte cōnfūsum, sed mente et cōgitātiōne distinguitur.As grace and beauty of body cannot be separated from health, so this decorum we are speaking of is indeed wholly blended with virtue, but is distinguished from it by the mind and by thought. Off. 1.27.96Est autem eius discrīptiō duplex;Its classification, moreover, is twofold; Off. 1.27.96nam et generāle quoddam decōrum intellegimus, quod in omnī honestāte versātur, et aliud huic subiectum, quod pertinet ad singulās partēs honestātis.for we recognise a certain general decorum, which is found in all moral goodness, and another subordinate to it, which belongs to the individual parts of moral goodness.
Off. 1.27.96Atque illud superius sīc ferē dēfīnīrī solet: decōrum id esse, quod cōnsentāneum sithominis excellentiae in eō, in quō nātūra eius ā reliquīs animantibus differat.The former is usually defined roughly thus: that decorum is what is in keeping with man's excellence in that respect in which his nature differs from that of the other living creatures. Off. 1.27.96Quae autem pars subiecta generī est, eam sīc dēfīniunt, ut id decōrum velint esse, quod ita nātūrae cōnsentāneum sit, ut in eō moderātiō et temperantia appāreat cum speciē quādam līberālī.The part, however, that is subordinate to the general they define thus: they would have decorum be what is so in keeping with nature that moderation and self-control appear in it, together with a certain gentlemanly bearing.