[83]
A great statesman, and worthy to have been1
born in our commonwealth! That is the right way
to deal with one's fellow-citizens, and not, as we have
already witnessed on two occasions, to plant the
spear in the forum and knock down the property of
citizens under the auctioneer's hammer. But yon
Greek, like a wise and excellent man, thought that
he must look out for the welfare of all. And this
is the highest statesmanship and the soundest wisdom
on the part of a good citizen, not to divide the interests of the citizens but to unite all on the basis of
impartial justice. “Let them live in their neighbour's
[p. 261]
house rent-free.” 2 Why so? In order that, when I
have bought, built, kept up, and spent my money
upon a place, you may without my consent enjoy
what belongs to me? What else is that but to rob
one man of what belongs to him and to give to
another what does not belong to him?
M. Tullius Cicero. De Officiis. With An English Translation. Walter Miller. Cambridge. Harvard University Press; Cambridge, Mass., London, England. 1913.
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