Cicero (on the Stoics) · 106–43 BCE
On Duties 1.43 — Cicero (on the Stoics)
Translation by Walter Miller (1913)
Cicero (on the Stoics), On Duties 1.43
Now, there are many—and especially those who are ambitious for eminence and glory—who rob one to enrich another; and they expect to be thought generous towards their friends, if they put them in the way of getting rich, no matter by what means. Such conduct, however, is so remote from moral duty that nothing can be more completely opposed to duty. We must, therefore, take care to indulge only in such liberality as will help our friends and hurt no one. The conveyance of property by Lucius Sulla and Gaius Caesar from its rightful owners to the hands of strangers should, for that reason, not be regarded as generosity; for nothing is generous, if it is not at the same time just.
Cite this passage
Cicero (on the Stoics), On Duties 1.43, tr. Walter Miller (1913)
https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/on-duties/1.43
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 notesSome ambitious people rob one person to enrich another and call it generosity toward friends, but nothing is generous unless it is also just. Helping your friends must never come at someone else's expense.
Older wording
- “liberality”
- — generosity
- “conveyance”
- — transfer of property
Themes and situations
- Kindness and forgiveness
- Justice and fairness
- Ambition and success
- Friendship
- An ethical dilemma
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