Off. 1.40.1Deinceps dē ōrdine rērum et dē opportūnitāte temporum dīcendum est.Next we must speak of the order of things and the timeliness of occasions. Off. 1.40.1Haec autem scientiā continentur eā, quam Graecī nōminant nōn, hanc quam, interpretāmur modestiam quō, in verbō modus īnest sed, illa est in quā, intellegitur ōrdinis cōnservātiō ordinis conservatio.These are contained in that science which the Greeks call eutaxia, not the one we translate as modestia, a word in which modus is contained; but that is eutaxia in which the keeping of order is understood. Off. 1.40.1Itaque, ut eandem nōs modestiam appellēmus, sīc dēfīnītur ā Stōicīs, ut modestia sit scientia rērum eārum, quae agentur aut dīcentur, locō suō collocandārum.And so, so that we may call this too modestia, it is defined by the Stoics thus: that modestia is the knowledge of placing the things that are done or said in their proper place. Off. 1.40.1Ita vidētur eadem vīs ōrdinis et collocātiōnis fore;Thus the meaning of order and of arrangement seems to be the same; Off. 1.40.1nam et ōrdinem sīc dēfīniunt: compositiōnem rērum aptīs et accommodātīs locīs;for they also define order thus: the arrangement of things in fit and suitable places; Off. 1.40.1locum autem āctiōnis opportūnitātem temporis esse dīcunt;and they say that the place of an action is the timeliness of the occasion; Off. 1.40.1tempus autem āctiōnis opportūnum Graecē Latīnē appellātur occāsiō occasio.and the proper time for an action is called eukairia in Greek, in Latin occasio.
Off. 1.40.1Sīc fit, ut modestia haec, quam ita interpretāmur, ut dīxī, scientia sit opportūnitātis idōneōrum ad agendum temporum.So it comes about that this modestia, which we interpret in the way I have said, is the knowledge of the right timing of occasions suited for action. Off. 1.40.143Sed potest eadem esse prūdentiae dēfīnītiō, dē quā prīncipiō dīximus;But the same may be the definition of prudence, of which we spoke at the beginning; Off. 1.40.143hōc autem locō dē moderātiōne et temperantiā et hārum similibus virtūtibus quaerimus.here, however, we are inquiring about moderation and temperance and virtues akin to them. Off. 1.40.143Itaque, quae erant prūdentiae propria, suō locō dicta sunt;Therefore what belonged to prudence was discussed in its own place; Off. 1.40.143quae autem hārum virtūtum, dē quibus iam diū loquimur, quae pertinent ad verēcundiam et ad eōrum approbātiōnem, quibuscum vīvimus, nunc dīcenda sunt.but what belongs to these virtues of which we have been speaking for some time now, which concern modesty and the approval of those with whom we live, must now be discussed. Off. 1.40.144Tālis est igitur ōrdō āctiōnum adhibendus, ut, quem ad modum in ōrātiōne cōnstantī, sīc in vītā omnia sint apta inter sē et convenientia;Such an order of actions, then, must be observed that, as in a consistent speech, so in life all things are suited to one another and in harmony; Off. 1.40.144turpe enimvaldē que vitiōsum in rē sevērā convīviō digna aut dēlicātum aliquem īnferre sermōnem.for it is shameful and very faulty, in a serious matter, to introduce talk fit for a dinner party or some frivolous remark.
Off. 1.40.144Bene Periclēs, cum habēret collēgam in praetūrā Sophoclem poëtam iīque dē commūnī officiō convēnissent et cāsū fōrmōsus puer praeterīret dīxissetque Sophoclēs: "Ō puerum pulchrum, Pericle!"Pericles answered well when he had the poet Sophocles as his colleague in the praetorship, and they had met to discuss their common duty, and a handsome boy happened to pass by, and Sophocles said: 'What a beautiful boy, Pericles!' Off. 1.40.144"At enim praetōrem, Sophocle, decet nōn sōlum manūs, sed etiam oculōs abstinentēs habēre."'But a praetor, Sophocles, ought to keep not only his hands but his eyes too under restraint.' Off. 1.40.144Atquī hoc idem Sophoclēs sī in athlētārum probātiōne dīxisset, iūstā reprehēnsiōne caruisset.Yet if Sophocles had said this same thing at a trial of athletes, he would have escaped just reproof. Off. 1.40.144Tanta vīs est et locī et temporis.So great is the force of both place and time. Off. 1.40.144Ut, sī quī, cum causam sit āctūrus, in itinere aut in ambulātiōne sēcum ipse meditētur, aut sī quid aliud attentius cōgitet, nōn reprehendātur, at hoc idem sī in convīviō faciat, inhūmānus videātur īnscītiā temporis.So, if someone who is about to plead a case rehearses it to himself on a journey or on a walk, or if he thinks about something else more intently, he is not blamed; but if he did this same thing at a dinner party, he would seem ill-bred through ignorance of the occasion.
Off. 1.40.145Sed ea, quae multum ab hūmānitāte discrepant, ut sī quī in forō cantet, aut sī qua est alia magna perversitās, facile appāret nec magnopere admonitiōnem et praecepta dēsīderat;But things that are greatly at odds with good manners, such as singing in the forum, or any other gross perversity, are easily evident and do not much need admonition and rules; Off. 1.40.145quae autem parva videntur esse dēlicta neque ā multīs intellegī possunt, ab iīs est dīligentius dēclīnandum.but what seem to be small faults and cannot be perceived by many, these must be avoided more carefully. Off. 1.40.145Ut in fidibus aut tībiīs, quamvīs paulum discrepent, tamen id ā sciente animadvertī solet, sīc videndum est in vītā nē forte quid discrepet, vel multō etiam magis, quō maior et melior āctiōnum quam sonōrum concentus est.As with lyres or flutes, however slightly they are out of tune, this is still usually noticed by an expert, so we must see that nothing in our life is by chance out of tune, or rather much more so, inasmuch as the harmony of actions is greater and better than that of sounds.