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Cicero
On Duties Passage 21
Passage 21 of 371
Canonical reference 1.21
Latin
perseus-cicero-de_officiis-lat
Sunt autem privata nulla natura, sed aut vetere occupatione, ut qui quondam in vacua venerunt, aut victoria, ut qui bello potiti sunt, aut lege, pactione, condicione, sorte; ex quo fit, ut ager Arpinas Arpinatium dicatur, Tusculanus Tusculanorum; similisque est privatarum possessionum discriptio. Ex quo, quia suum cuiusque fit eorum, quae natura fuerant communia, quod cuique obtigit, id quisque teneat; e quo si quis sibi appetet, violabit ius humanae societatis.
English AI-generated translation, non-official
Codex gpt-5.6-sol · Non-official working translation · 2026-09-11
Nothing, however, is private by nature. Things become private either through ancient occupation, as when people once entered unoccupied land; through conquest, as when people gained possession in war; or through law, agreement, condition, or allotment. Thus the territory of Arpinum is called the property of the Arpinates, and that of Tusculum the property of the Tusculans. Private possessions are apportioned in a similar way. Therefore, since each person's share of what was common by nature becomes his own, each should retain what has fallen to him; and if anyone seeks to appropriate something from it for himself, he will violate the law of human society.
French AI-generated translation, non-official
Codex gpt-5.6-sol · Non-official working translation · 2026-09-11
Rien, toutefois, n’est privé par nature; les biens le deviennent soit par une ancienne occupation, comme lorsque des hommes arrivèrent autrefois sur des terres vacantes, soit par la victoire, comme pour ceux qui s’en emparèrent par la guerre, soit par la loi, une convention, une condition ou le sort. Ainsi le territoire d’Arpinum est appelé propriété des Arpinates, celui de Tusculum propriété des Tusculans; la répartition des possessions privées suit une règle semblable. Puisque chacun devient ainsi propriétaire de la part qui lui est échue parmi les choses naturellement communes, que chacun conserve ce qui lui est revenu. Si quelqu’un en convoite une part pour lui-même, il violera le droit de la société humaine.
Concepts in this passage
Civic duty
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Moral decorum
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Duty
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Moral rightness and utility
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Nature
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Suffering
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