Cicero (on the Stoics) · 106–43 BCE
On Duties 1.117 — Cicero (on the Stoics)
Translation by Walter Miller (1913)
Cicero (on the Stoics), On Duties 1.117
All these questions, therefore, we ought to bear thoughtfully in mind, when we inquire into the nature of propriety; but above all we must decide who and what manner of men we wish to be and what calling in life we would follow; and this is the most difficult problem in the world. For it is in the years of early youth, when our judgment is most immature, that each of us decides that his calling in life shall be that to which he has taken a special liking. And thus he becomes engaged in some particular calling and career in life, before he is fit to decide intelligently what is best for him.
Cite this passage
Cicero (on the Stoics), On Duties 1.117, tr. Walter Miller (1913)
https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/on-duties/1.117
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 notesDeciding who you want to be and what calling to follow is the hardest question in life, partly because most people settle on a career in their early years, driven by a passing liking, before their judgement is mature enough to choose well.
Themes and situations
- Virtue and character
- Learning and progress
- Duty and roles
- Ambition and success
- A hard decision
- Searching for meaning
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