Cicero (on the Stoics) · 106–43 BCE
On Duties 2.15 — Cicero (on the Stoics)
Translation by Walter Miller (1913)
Cicero (on the Stoics), On Duties 2.15
Why should I recount the multitude of arts without which life would not be worth living at all? For how would the sick be healed? What pleasure would the hale enjoy? What comforts should we have, if there were not so many arts to minister to our wants? In all these respects the civilized life of man is far removed from the standard of the comforts and wants of the lower animals. And, without the association of men, cities could not have been built or peopled. In consequence of city life, laws and customs were established, and then came the equitable distribution of private rights and a definite social system. Upon these institutions followed a more humane spirit and consideration for others, with the result that life was better supplied with all it requires, and by giving and receiving, by mutual exchange of commodities and conveniences, we succeeded in meeting all our wants.
Cite this passage
Cicero (on the Stoics), On Duties 2.15, tr. Walter Miller (1913)
https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/on-duties/2.15
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 notesCivilised life rests on cooperation: skills, medicine, cities, laws and a fair sharing of rights. These in turn produced a more humane spirit and the mutual giving and receiving that meets all our needs.
Older wording
- “hale”
- — healthy
- “equitable”
- — fair and even-handed
- “minister to”
- — attend to, serve
Themes and situations
- Community and our duty to others
- Justice and fairness
- Learning and progress
Quote cards
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