*149* Eos autem, quorum vita perspecta in rebus honestis atque magnis est, bene de re publica sentientes ac bene meritos aut merentes sic ut[151] aliquo honore aut imperio affectos observare et colere debemus, tribuere etiam multum senectuti, cedere iis, qui magistratum habebunt, habere dilectum civis et peregrini in ipsoque peregrino, privatimne an publice venerit. Ad summam, ne agam de singulis, communem totius generis hominum conciliationem et consociationem colere, tueri, servare debemus. [148] _animadversores_ [_que_] Ed.; _animadversoresque_ MSS.; *_animadversoresque_ Bt.; _animadversores_ Orelli, Müller, Heine. [149] _dedeceat_ a c, Edd.; _deceat_ H L b; _non deceat_ B. _in illis_ a Bt.^1, Ed.; _in illos_ B H b c; _illos_ L, Bt.^2 [150] _et ab aliis_ a, Bt., Ed.; _aliis_ B H b; _et cum aliis_ c; _et ex aliis_ Unger, Müller. [151] _sic ut_ L p, Nonius; not in B H b c. #We correct our faults# #(1) by observing others,# *146* XLI. As, therefore, a musical ear detects even the slightest falsity of tone in a harp, so we, if we wish to be keen and careful observers of moral faults, shall often draw important conclusions from trifles. We observe others and from a glance of the eyes, from a contracting or relaxing of the brows, from an air of sadness, from an outburst of joy, from a laugh, from speech, from silence, from a raising or lowering of the voice, and the like, we shall easily judge which of our actions is proper, and which is out of accord with duty and nature. And, in the same manner, it is not a bad plan to judge of the nature of our every action by studying others, that so we may ourselves avoid anything that is unbecoming in them. For it happens somehow or other that we detect another's failings more readily than we do our own; and so in the school-room those pupils learn most easily to do better whose faults the masters mimic for the sake of correcting them. #(2) by the criticisms of the wise.# *147* Nor is it out of place in making a choice between duties involving a doubt, to consult men of learning or practical wisdom and to ascertain what their views are on any particular question of duty. For the majority usually drift as the current of their own natural inclinations carries them; and in deriving counsel from one of these, we have to see not only what our adviser says, but also what he thinks, and what his reasons are for thinking as he does. For, as painters and sculptors and even poets, too, wish to have their works reviewed by the public, in order that, if any point is generally criticized, it may be improved; and as they try to discover both by themselves and with the help of others what is wrong in their work; so through consulting the judgment of others we find that there are many things to be done and left undone, to be altered and improved. #The laws of the state are rules of duty.#