Cicero (on the Stoics) · 106–43 BCE
On Duties 1.154 — Cicero (on the Stoics)
Translation by Walter Miller (1913)
Cicero (on the Stoics), On Duties 1.154
Upon this all the best men agree, as they prove by their conduct. For who is so absorbed in the investigation and study of creation, but that, even though he were working and pondering over tasks never so much worth mastering and even though he thought he could number the stars and measure the length and breadth of the universe, he would drop all those problems and cast them aside, if word were suddenly brought to him of some critical peril to his country, which he could relieve or repel? And he would do the same to further the interests of parent or friend or to save him from danger.
Cite this passage
Cicero (on the Stoics), On Duties 1.154, tr. Walter Miller (1913)
https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/on-duties/1.154
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 notesEven someone deeply absorbed in a worthy intellectual project would drop everything if his country were in sudden danger, or a parent or friend needed help. People show by what they actually do that helping others outranks personal pursuits.
Themes and situations
- Duty and roles
- Community and our duty to others
- Friendship
- Family and love
- A hard decision
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