Off. 1.44.1Atque illī, quōrum studia vītaque omnis in rērum cognitiōne versāta est, tamen ab augendīs hominum ūtilitātibus et commodīs nōn recessērunt;And yet those whose pursuits and whole life were spent in the study of nature have not withdrawn from increasing the advantages and interests of mankind; Off. 1.44.1nam et ērudīvērunt multōs, quō meliōrēs cīvēs ūtiliōrēsque rēbus suīs pūblicīs essent, ut Thēbānum Epamīnōndam Lȳsis Pȳthagorēus, Syrācosium Diōnem Platō multīque multōs, nōsque ipsī, quicquid ad rem pūblicam attulimus, sī modo aliquid attulimus, ā doctōribus atque doctrīnā īnstrūctī ad eam et ōrnātī accessimus.for they educated many, to make them better citizens and more useful to their states, as Lysis the Pythagorean educated Epaminondas of Thebes, Plato Dion of Syracuse, and many men many others; and I myself, whatever I have contributed to the state, if indeed I have contributed anything, came to it trained and equipped by teachers and learning. Off. 1.44.156Neque sōlum vīvī atque praesentēs studiōsōs discendī ērudiunt atque docent, sed hoc idem etiam post mortem monumentīs litterārum assequuntur.And not only while living and present do they instruct and teach those eager to learn, but they achieve this same end even after death by the monuments of their writings.
Off. 1.44.156Nec enim locus ūllus est praetermissus ab iīs, quī ad lēgēs, quī ad mōrēs, quī ad disciplīnam reī pūblicae pertinēret, ut ōtium suum ad nostrum negōtium contulisse videantur.For no subject has been passed over by them which concerned the laws, customs or discipline of the state, so that they seem to have devoted their leisure to our business. Off. 1.44.156Ita illī ipsī doctrīnae studiīs et sapientiae dēditī ad hominum ūtilitātem suam prūdentiam intellegentiamque potissimum cōnferunt;So those very men, devoted to the pursuit of learning and wisdom, bring their wisdom and understanding above all to the service of mankind; Off. 1.44.156ob eamque etiam causam ēloquī cōpiōsē, modo prūdenter, melius est quam vel acūtissimē sine ēloquentiā cōgitāre, quod cōgitātiō in sē ipsa vertitur, ēloquentia complectitur eōs, quibuscum commūnitāte iūnctī sumus.and for this reason too, to speak with fluency, provided it is with wisdom, is better than to think, however acutely, without eloquence, because thought turns in upon itself, whereas eloquence embraces those with whom we are joined in fellowship. Off. 1.44.157Atque ut apium exāmina nōn fingendōrum favōrum causā congregantur, sed, cum congregābilia nātūrā sint, fingunt favōs, sīc hominēs, ac multō etiam magis, nātūrā congregātī adhibent agendī cōgitandīque sollertiam.And as swarms of bees do not gather for the sake of fashioning honeycombs, but, being gregarious by nature, fashion honeycombs, so men, and much more so, being by nature gathered together, apply their skill in acting and thinking.
Off. 1.44.157Itaque, nisi ea virtūs, quae cōnstat ex hominibus tuendīs, id est ex societāte generis hūmānī, attingat cognitiōnem rērum, sōlivaga cognitiō et iēiūna videātur, itemque magnitūdō animī remōtā commūnitāte coniūnctiōneque hūmāna feritās sit quaedam et immānitās.And so, unless that virtue which consists in protecting men, that is, in the society of the human race, should touch upon knowledge, knowledge would seem solitary and barren; and likewise greatness of spirit, divorced from fellowship and human ties, would be a kind of savagery and brutality. Off. 1.44.157Ita fit, ut vincat cognitiōnis studium cōnsociātiō hominum atque commūnitās.So it comes about that the fellowship and community of men prevails over the pursuit of knowledge. Off. 1.44.158Nec vērum est, quod dīcitur ā quibusdam, propter necessitātem vītae, quod ea, quae nātūra dēsīderāret, cōnsequī sine aliīs atque efficere nōn possēmus, idcircō initam esse cum hominibus commūnitātem et societātem;Nor is it true, as is said by some, that it was because of the necessities of life, since we could not obtain and achieve without others what nature required, that community and society with men were formed; Off. 1.44.158quodsī omnia nōbīs, quae ad vīctum cultumque pertinent, quasi virgulā dīvīnā, ut aiunt, suppeditārentur, tum optimō quisque ingeniō negōtiīs omnibus omissīs tōtum sē in cognitiōne et scientiā collocāret.but if everything that relates to food and clothing were supplied to us as if by a magic wand, as they say, then every man of the best ability would give up all business and devote himself wholly to knowledge and science.
Off. 1.44.158Nōn est ita;That is not so; Off. 1.44.158nam et sōlitūdinem fugeret et socium studiī quaereret, tum docēre tum discere vellet, tum audīre tum dīcere.for he would both flee solitude and seek a companion in his study, and would wish now to teach, now to learn, now to listen, now to speak. Off. 1.44.158Ergō omne officium, quod ad coniūnctiōnem hominum et ad societātem tuendam valet, antepōnendum est illī officiō, quod cognitiōne et scientiā continētur.Therefore every duty which serves to maintain the union and society of men must be preferred to that duty which consists in knowledge and science.