[14]
And it is no mean manifestation of Nature and1
Reason that man is the only animal that has a feeling for order, for propriety, for moderation in word
and deed. And so no other animal has a sense of
beauty, loveliness, harmony in the visible world; and
Nature and Reason, extending the analogy of this
from the world of sense to the world of spirit, find that
[p. 17]
beauty, consistency, order are far more to be maintained in thought and deed, and the same Nature
and Reason are careful to do nothing in an improper
or unmanly fashion, and in every thought and deed
to do or think nothing capriciously.
It is from these elements that is forged and
fashioned that moral goodness which is the subject
of this inquiry—something that, even though it be
not generally ennobled, is still worthy of all honour;2
and by its own nature, we correctly maintain, it
merits praise, even though it be praised by none.
M. Tullius Cicero. De Officiis. With An English Translation. Walter Miller. Cambridge. Harvard University Press; Cambridge, Mass., London, England. 1913.
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