Cicero (on the Stoics) · 106–43 BCE
On Duties 1.105 — Cicero (on the Stoics)
Translation by Walter Miller (1913)
Cicero (on the Stoics), On Duties 1.105
But it is essential to every inquiry about duty that we keep before our eyes how far superior man is by nature to cattle and other beasts: they have no thought except for sensual pleasure and this they are impelled by every instinct to seek; but man's mind is nurtured by study and meditation; he is always either investigating or doing, and he is captivated by the pleasure of seeing and hearing. Nay, even if a man is more than ordinarily inclined to sensual pleasures, provided, of course, that he be not quite on a level with the beasts of the field (for some people are men only in name, not in fact)—if, I say, he is a little too susceptible to the attractions of pleasure, he hides the fact, however much he may be caught in its toils, and for very shame conceals his appetite.
Cite this passage
Cicero (on the Stoics), On Duties 1.105, tr. Walter Miller (1913)
https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/on-duties/1.105
Cicero, On Duties (De Officiis), tr. Walter Miller (Loeb, 1913). Text: Perseus Digital Library (CC BY-SA 4.0). Sources and licences
In plain English
AI-written notesHumans differ from animals in that the mind is nourished by study, thought and curiosity, not only by sensual pleasure. Even people who lean towards pleasure tend to hide it out of shame, which shows that they sense it falls short of human dignity.
Older wording
- “toils”
- — a trap or snare
Themes and situations
- Pleasure and pain
- Self-discipline and habit
- Virtue and character
- Nature and the cosmos
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