Treatise — Marc, Institutiones Morales
Treatise III: On The Lay State
- For those living in the lay state, the condition of life is one or the other: either they spend private life in domestic society, or they bear some public duty, for the common good.
From this double condition of life there arises a double species of particular offices. Some bind men who conduct private life, and these are referred to domestic society, whether paternal, conjugal, or masterly (concerning which we have already acted in the Treatise on the Fourth Precept). But others bind men who perform some public duty in civil society. Concerning these there must be disputed in the present Treatise.
The disputation embraces THREE things, namely: 1. The Offices of Princes, legislators, and others who are over the republic; 2. The Offices of those who are engaged in the forum, and in whose hands is the exercise of public justice; 3. The Offices of physicians and pharmacists, who similarly perform their duty for the common good.
Concerning the other secular offices, we have treated abundantly in the various chapters of the Decalogue. - See what was said concerning more frequent scandals (n. 515 sqq.), concerning innkeepers (n. 522), concerning artisans and merchants (n. 523 and 908), concerning printers and booksellers (n. 524), concerning collectors of taxes (n. 968), concerning mandataries (n. 1090), concerning money-changers (n. 1116), etc. etc.