BOOK I

...the part of the soul devoid of reason, being educated in various ways, reached an appropriate gentleness gentleness (mansuetudo): a state of being tamed or civilized, moving away from wild, predatory impulses; this occurred while those who first civilized nations applied various methods of taming to the irrational impulse of desire. One of these methods was the rule that people should not kill one another without a trial.

However, regarding other animals, those who first established for us what ought or ought not to be done rightly forbade the killing of none; for in their case, our utility original: "utilitas," referring to the practical benefit or survival of the human species arose from the opposite action. For it was not possible for men living together to remain safe unless they attempted to repel the attacks of wild beasts.

Since, therefore, some among those who were then the most refined original: "elegantissimi," referring to the most cultured or wise leaders of early society remembered that they had abstained from mutual slaughter specifically because it contributed to their safety, they reminded others in these common societies societies (societatibus): early organized communities or fellowships bound by mutual needs of how things had turned out. They did this so that by abstaining from harming their own kind, they might preserve the social bond, which provided the greatest help for the individual safety of every person.

Furthermore, this gathering of men into one place and their abstinence from mutual injury was useful not only for repelling the attacks of animals of a different species, but also for warding off other men who might approach with the intent to do harm. For a time, indeed, those who came together into the same community of necessities abstained from one another for this reason, and they? brought about some use for both of the purposes mentioned above...