Off. 1.31.1Admodum autem tenenda sunt sua cuique nōn vitiōsa, sed tamen propria, quō facilius decōrum illud, quod quaerimus, retineātur.Each person must hold firmly to his own qualities, not vicious ones but those peculiar to him, so that the decorum we are seeking may be the more easily maintained. Off. 1.31.1Sīc enim est faciendum, ut contrā ūniversam nātūram nihil contendāmus, eā tamen cōnservātā propriam nostram sequāmur, ut, etiamsī sint alia graviōra atque meliōra, tamen nōs studia nostra nostrae nātūrae rēgulā mētiāmur;For we must act in such a way that we strive for nothing against universal nature, but, while preserving that, follow our own particular nature, so that, even if other pursuits are weightier and better, we still measure our own pursuits by the rule of our own nature; Off. 1.31.1neque enim attinet nātūrae repugnāre nec quicquam sequī, quod assequī nōn queās.for there is no point in fighting against nature or in pursuing anything you cannot attain. Off. 1.31.1Ex quō magis ēmergit, quāle sit decōrum illud, ideō quia nihil decet invītā Minervā, ut aiunt, id est adversante et repugnante nātūrā.From this it emerges more clearly what that decorum is, precisely because nothing is fitting 'against Minerva's will', as they say, that is, when nature opposes and resists.
Off. 1.31.111Omnīnō sī quicquam est decōrum, nihil est profectō magis quam aequābilitās cum ūniversae vītae, tum singulārum āctiōnum, quam cōnservāre nōn possīs, sī aliōrum nātūram imitāns omittās tuam.Certainly, if anything is fitting, nothing surely is more so than consistency, both of one's whole life and of individual actions, and this you cannot preserve if, imitating the nature of others, you abandon your own. Off. 1.31.111Ut enim sermōne eō dēbēmus ūtī, quī innātus est nōbīs, nē, ut quīdam, Graeca verba inculcantēs iūre optimō rīdeāmur, sīc in āctiōnēs omnemque vītam nūllam discrepantiam cōnferre dēbēmus.For as we ought to use the language that is native to us, lest, like certain people, we are quite rightly laughed at for stuffing in Greek words, so we ought to bring no inconsistency into our actions and our whole life. Off. 1.31.112Atque haec differentia nātūrārum tantam habet vim, ut nōn numquam mortem sibi ipse cōnscīscere alius dēbeat, alius nōn dēbeat.And this difference of natures has such force that sometimes one man ought to take his own life and another ought not. Off. 1.31.112Num enim aliā in causā M. Catō fuit, aliā cēterī, quī sē in Āfricā Caesarī trādidērunt?For was Marcus Cato in one situation, and the others who surrendered to Caesar in Africa in another?
Off. 1.31.112Atquī cēterīs forsitan vitiō datum esset, sī sē interēmissent, proptereā quod lēnior eōrum vīta et mōrēs fuerant faciliōrēs, Catōnī cum incrēdibilem tribuisset nātūra gravitātem eamque ipse perpetuā cōnstantiā rōborāvisset semperque in prōpositō susceptōque cōnsiliō permānsisset, moriendum potius quam tyrannī vultus aspiciendus fuit.Yet for the others it might perhaps have been counted a fault if they had killed themselves, because their life had been gentler and their characters more easygoing; but for Cato, since nature had given him an incredible seriousness, and he himself had strengthened it by unbroken consistency and had always remained firm in the purpose and plan he had undertaken, it was necessary to die rather than to look upon the face of a tyrant. Off. 1.31.113Quam multa passus est Ulixēs in illō errōre diūturnō, cum et mulieribus, sī Circē et Calypsō mulierēs appellandae sunt, īnservīret et in omnī sermōne omnibus affābilem esse sē vellet!How much Ulysses endured in that long wandering of his, when he both served women, if Circe and Calypso are to be called women, and wished to be affable to all in all his talk!
Off. 1.31.113domī vērō etiam contumēliās servōrum ancillārumque pertulit, ut ad id aliquandō, quod cupiēbat, venīret.and at home he endured even the insults of male and female slaves, so that he might at last arrive at what he desired. Off. 1.31.113At Aiāx, quō animō trāditur, mīliēs oppetere mortem quam illa perpetī māluisset.But Ajax, with the spirit he is said to have had, would have preferred to meet death a thousand times rather than endure such things. Off. 1.31.113Quae contemplantēs expendere oportēbit, quid quisque habeat suī, eaque moderārī nec velle experīrī, quam sē aliēna deceant;Contemplating these examples, we shall have to weigh what each person has of his own, and regulate this, and not wish to try how well someone else's qualities would suit us; Off. 1.31.113id enim maximē quemque decet, quod est cuiusque maximē suum.for what is most fitting for each person is what is most his own. Off. 1.31.114Suum quisque igitur nōscat ingenium ācremque sē et bonōrum et vitiōrum suōrum iūdicem praebeat, nē scaenicī plūs quam nōs videantur habēre prūdentiae.Let each man, then, know his own character, and show himself a sharp judge of his own good qualities and faults, lest actors seem to have more good sense than we do.
Off. 1.31.114Illī enim nōn optimās, sed sibi accommodātissimās fābulās ēligunt;For they choose not the best plays but those best suited to themselves; Off. 1.31.114quī vōce frētī sunt, Epigonōs Mēdumque, quī gestū, Melanippam, Clytemnēstram, semper Rupilius, quem ego meminī, Antiopam, nōn saepe Aesōpus Aiācem.those who rely on their voice choose the Epigoni and the Medus, those who rely on gesture the Melanippa and the Clytemnestra; Rupilius, whom I remember, always chose the Antiopa, Aesopus not often the Ajax. Off. 1.31.114Ergō histriō hoc vidēbit in scaenā, nōn vidēbit sapiēns vir in vītā?Will an actor, then, see this on the stage, and a wise man not see it in life? Off. 1.31.114Ad quās igitur rēs aptissimī erimus, in iīs potissimum ēlabōrābimus;We shall therefore work hardest at those things for which we are best suited; Off. 1.31.114sīn aliquandō necessitās nōs ad ea dētrūserit, quae nostrī ingeniī nōn erunt, omnis adhibenda erit cūra, meditātiō, dīligentia, ut ea sī nōn decōrē, at quam minimē indecōrē facere possīmus;but if necessity should at some time thrust us into things which do not suit our talents, we shall have to apply all care, thought and diligence so that we can do them, if not with propriety, at least with as little impropriety as possible; Off. 1.31.114nec tam est ēnītendum, ut bona, quae nōbīs data nōn sint, sequāmur, quam ut vitia fugiāmus.nor should we strive so much to pursue good qualities which have not been given to us as to avoid faults.