Cicero (on the Stoics) · 106–43 BCE
On Duties 1.95 — Cicero (on the Stoics)
Translation by Walter Miller (1913)
Cicero (on the Stoics), On Duties 1.95
This propriety, therefore, of which I am speaking belongs to each division of moral rectitude; and its relation to the cardinal virtues is so close, that it is perfectly self-evident and does not require any abstruse process of reasoning to see it. For there is a certain element of propriety perceptible in every act of moral rectitude; and this can be separated from virtue theoretically better than it can be practically. As comeliness and beauty of person are inseparable from the notion of health, so this propriety of which we are speaking, while in fact completely blended with virtue, is mentally and theoretically distinguishable from it.
Cite this passage
Cicero (on the Stoics), On Duties 1.95, tr. Walter Miller (1913)
https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/on-duties/1.95
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 notesExplains that propriety is present in every virtuous act and can be separated from virtue only in theory, much as good looks go together with health.
Older wording
- “cardinal virtues”
- — the four main virtues: wisdom, justice, courage and self-control
- “abstruse”
- — hard to understand
- “comeliness”
- — attractiveness
Themes and situations
- Virtue and character
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