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Cicero

On Duties Passage 34

Passage 34 of 371

Canonical reference 1.34

Latin

perseus-cicero-de_officiis-lat

Atque in re publica maxime conservanda sunt iura belli. Nam cum sint duo genera decertandi, unum per disceptationem, alterum per vim, cumque illud proprium sit hominis, hoc beluarum, confugiendum est ad posterius, si uti non licet superiore.

English AI-generated translation, non-official

Codex gpt-5.6-sol · Non-official working translation · 2026-09-11

In public affairs, the laws of war must above all be preserved. For there are two ways of settling a contest, one by discussion and the other by force. Since the former is proper to human beings and the latter to beasts, we must resort to the latter only if we are not permitted to use the former.

French AI-generated translation, non-official

Codex gpt-5.6-sol · Non-official working translation · 2026-09-11

Dans les affaires publiques, il faut surtout observer les droits de la guerre. Il existe deux manières de trancher un conflit, l’une par la discussion, l’autre par la force; puisque la première est propre à l’homme et la seconde aux bêtes, on ne doit recourir à cette dernière que s’il n’est pas permis d’employer la première.

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