Cicero (on the Stoics) · 106–43 BCE
On Duties 1.39 — Cicero (on the Stoics)
Translation by Walter Miller (1913)
Cicero (on the Stoics), On Duties 1.39
Again, if under stress of circumstances individuals have made any promise to the enemy, they are bound to keep their word even then. For instance, in the First Punic War, when Regulus was taken prisoner by the Carthaginians, he was sent to Rome on parole to negotiate an exchange of prisoners; he came and, in the first place, it was he that made the motion in the Senate that the prisoners should not be restored; and in the second place, when his relatives and friends would have kept him back, he chose to return to a death by torture rather than prove false to his promise, though given to an enemy.
Cite this passage
Cicero (on the Stoics), On Duties 1.39, tr. Walter Miller (1913)
https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/on-duties/1.39
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 notesPromises made to an enemy under pressure still bind you. A captured Roman general, sent home to negotiate, argued against the deal, then went back to the enemy and to his own death rather than break his word.
Older wording
- “on parole”
- — released on a promise to return
Themes and situations
- Justice and fairness
- Courage
- Duty and roles
- Virtue and character
- An ethical dilemma
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