Cicero (on the Stoics) · 106–43 BCE
On Duties 1.158 — Cicero (on the Stoics)
Translation by Walter Miller (1913)
Cicero (on the Stoics), On Duties 1.158
And it is not true, as certain people maintain, that the bonds of union in human society were instituted in order to provide for the needs of daily life; for, they say, without the aid of others we could not secure for ourselves or supply to others the things that Nature requires; but if all that is essential to our wants and comfort were supplied by some magic wand, as in the stories, then every man of first-rate ability could drop all other responsibility and devote himself exclusively to learning and study. Not at all. For he would seek to escape from his loneliness and to find someone to share his studies; he would wish to teach, as well as to learn; to hear, as well as to speak. Every duty, therefore, that tends effectively to maintain and safeguard human society should be given the preference over that duty which arises from speculation and science alone.
Cite this passage
Cicero (on the Stoics), On Duties 1.158, tr. Walter Miller (1913)
https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/on-duties/1.158
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 notesHuman fellowship is not just a practical deal for getting needs met. Even a brilliant person with everything provided and free to study all day would crave company, wanting to teach and learn, to speak and be heard. So duties that sustain society come before pure intellectual pursuits.
Older wording
- “speculation”
- — abstract, theoretical thinking
Themes and situations
- Community and our duty to others
- Solitude and retreat
- Friendship
- Learning and progress
- Loneliness
Quote cards
The opening line of this passage as an image, with its citation — for sharing or keeping.