Off. 1.9.1Praetermittendae autem dēfēnsiōnis dēserendīque officiī plūrēs solent esse causae;For neglecting defence and deserting duty there are usually several reasons; Off. 1.9.1nam aut inimīcitiās aut labōrem aut sūmptūs suscipere nōlunt aut etiam neglegentiā, pigritiā, inertiā aut suīs studiīs quibusdam occupātiōnibusve sīc impediuntur, ut eōs, quōs tūtārī dēbeant, dēsertōs esse patiantur.for men are unwilling to incur enmities or toil or expense, or else they are so hindered by negligence, laziness, idleness, or by certain pursuits or occupations of their own, that they allow those whom they ought to protect to be abandoned. Off. 1.9.1Itaque videndum est, nē nōn satis sit id, quod apud Platōnem est in philosophōs dictum, quod in vērī investīgātiōne versentur quodque ea, quae plērīque vehementer expetant, dē quibus inter sē digladiārī soleant, contemnant et prō nihilō putent, proptereā iūstōs esse.So we must consider whether what Plato says of philosophers may fall short: that because they are occupied in the investigation of truth, and because they despise and count as nothing the things that most men eagerly seek and over which they are wont to fight one another, they are therefore just. Off. 1.9.1Nam alterum assequuntur, ut īnferendā nē cui noceant iniūriā, in alterum incidunt;For they attain the one kind of justice, in that they harm no one by inflicting wrong, but they fall into the other; Off. 1.9.1discendī enim studiō impedītī, quōs tuērī dēbent, dēserunt.for, hindered by their zeal for learning, they desert those whom they ought to protect.
Off. 1.9.1Itaque eōs nē ad rem pūblicam quidem accessūrōs putat nisi coāctōs.And so he thinks they will not even enter public life unless compelled. Off. 1.9.1Aequius autem erat id voluntāte fierī;But it would be fairer for this to happen by choice; Off. 1.9.1namhoc ipsum ita iūstum est, quod rēctē fit, sī est voluntārium.for this very thing, which is done rightly, is just only on condition that it is voluntary. Off. 1.9.29Sunt etiam, quī aut studiō reī familiāris tuendae aut odiō quōdam hominum suum sē negōtium agere dīcant nec facere cuiquam videantur iniūriam.There are also those who, either from zeal for looking after their estate or from a kind of hatred of men, say that they mind their own business and are seen to do no one any wrong. Off. 1.9.29Quī alterō genere iniūstitiae vacant, in alterum incurrunt;These men are free from the one kind of injustice but run into the other; Off. 1.9.29dēserunt enim vītae societātem, quia nihil cōnferunt in eam studiī, nihil operae, nihil facultātum.for they desert the fellowship of life, because they contribute to it no zeal, no effort, no resources.
Off. 1.9.29Quandō igitur duōbus generibus iniūstitiae prōpositīs adiūnximus causās utrīusque generis eāsque rēs ante cōnstituimus, quibus iūstitia continērētur, facile, quod cuiusque temporis officium sit, poterimus, nisi nōsmet ipsōs valdē amābimus, iūdicāre;Since, then, having set out the two kinds of injustice, we have added the causes of each kind, and have earlier established the things on which justice depends, we shall easily be able to judge what duty is at each moment, unless we love ourselves too much; Off. 1.9.30est enim difficilis cūra rērum aliēnārum.for concern for the affairs of others is difficult. Off. 1.9.30Quamquam Terentiānus ille Chremēs "hūmānī nihil ā sē aliēnum putat";It is true that Terence's famous Chremes 'thinks nothing human foreign to him'; Off. 1.9.30sed tamen, quia magis ea percipimus atque sentīmus, quae nōbīs ipsīs aut prospera aut adversa ēveniunt, quam illa, quae cēterīs, quae quasi longō intervallō interiectō vidēmus, aliter dē illīs ac dē nōbīs iūdicāmus.but still, because we perceive and feel more keenly the good or bad things that befall ourselves than those that befall others, which we see as if across a long distance between, we judge differently about them and about ourselves. Off. 1.9.30Quōcircā bene praecipiunt, quī vetant quicquam agere, quod dubitēs aequum sit an inīquum.Therefore those give good advice who forbid us to do anything when we are in doubt whether it is fair or unfair.
Off. 1.9.30Aequitās enim lūcet ipsa per sē, dubitātiō cōgitātiōnem significat iniūriae.For fairness shines out by itself, while doubt indicates a thought of wrongdoing.