Cicero (on the Stoics) · 106–43 BCE
On Duties 1.79 — Cicero (on the Stoics)
Translation by Walter Miller (1913)
Cicero (on the Stoics), On Duties 1.79
That moral goodness which we look for in a lofty, high-minded spirit is secured, of course, by moral, not by physical, strength. And yet the body must be trained and so disciplined that it can obey the dictates of judgment and reason in attending to business and in enduring toil. But that moral goodness which is our theme depends wholly upon the thought and attention given to it by the mind. And, in this way, the men who in a civil capacity direct the affairs of the nation render no less important service than they who conduct its wars: by their statesmanship oftentimes wars are either averted or terminated; sometimes also they are declared. Upon Marcus Cato's counsel, for example, the Third Punic War was undertaken, and in its conduct his influence was dominant, even after he was dead.
Cite this passage
Cicero (on the Stoics), On Duties 1.79, tr. Walter Miller (1913)
https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/on-duties/1.79
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 notesMoral goodness depends on strength of mind, not body, though the body should still be trained to follow reason and endure work. Statesmen whose advice averts, ends or starts wars serve the country as much as those who fight them.
Older wording
- “counsel”
- — advice and planning
Themes and situations
- Virtue and character
- Self-discipline and habit
- Leadership and power
- Duty and roles
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