Off. 1.45.1Illud forsitan quaerendum sit, num haec commūnitās, quae maximē est apta nātūrae, sit etiam moderātiōnī modestiaeque semper antepōnenda.Perhaps it should be asked whether this fellowship, which is most in accordance with nature, should always be preferred also to moderation and restraint. Off. 1.45.1Nōn placet;I think not; Off. 1.45.1sunt enim quaedam partim ita foeda, partim ita flāgitiōsa, ut ea nē cōnservandae quidem patriae causā sapiēns factūrus sit.for there are some things partly so foul, partly so outrageous, that the wise man would not do them even to save his country. Off. 1.45.1Ea Posīdōnius collēgit permulta, sed ita taetra quaedam, ita obscēna, ut dictū quoque videantur turpia.Posidonius collected a great many of them, but some so revolting, so obscene, that they seem disgraceful even to mention. Off. 1.45.1Haec igitur nōn suscipiet reī pūblicae causā, nē rēs pūblica quidem prō sē suscipī volet.These, then, he will not undertake for the sake of the state, nor will the state wish them to be undertaken on its behalf. Off. 1.45.1Sed hōc commodius sē rēs habet, quod nōn potest accidere tempus, ut intersit reī pūblicae quicquam illōrum facere sapientem.But the matter stands more conveniently in that no occasion can arise when it would be in the state's interest for the wise man to do any of these things.
Off. 1.45.160Quārē hoc quidem effectum sit, in officiīs dēligendīs id genus officiōrum excellere, quod teneātur hominum societāte.Let this, then, be established, that in choosing duties that kind of duty is pre-eminent which is bound up with human society. Off. 1.45.160Atque haec quidem hāctenus.And so much for this. Off. 1.45.160Patefactus enim locus est ipse, ut nōn difficile sit in exquīrendō officiō, quid cuique sit praepōnendum, vidēre.For the topic itself has been laid open, so that it is not difficult, in seeking out duty, to see what should be preferred to what. Off. 1.45.160In ipsā autem commūnitāte sunt gradūs officiōrum, ex quibus, quid cuique praestet, intellegī possit, ut prīma dīs immortālibus, secunda patriae, tertia parentibus, deinceps gradātim reliquīs dēbeantur.In fellowship itself, however, there are degrees of duty, from which it can be understood what takes precedence for each person: so that the first duties are owed to the immortal gods, the second to our country, the third to our parents, and thereafter by degrees to the rest. Off. 1.45.161Quibus ex rēbus breviter disputātīs intellegī potest nōn sōlum id hominēs solēre dubitāre, honestumne an turpe sit, sed etiam duōbus prōpositīs honestīs utrum honestius sit.From these matters, briefly discussed, it can be understood that men are accustomed to hesitate not only over whether a thing is honourable or shameful, but also, when two honourable things are proposed, which is more honourable.
Off. 1.45.161Hic locus ā Panaetiō est, ut suprā dīxī, praetermissus.This topic was, as I said above, passed over by Panaetius. Off. 1.45.161Sed iam ad reliqua pergāmus.But now let us proceed to the rest.