Cicero (on the Stoics) · 106–43 BCE
On Duties 2.28 — Cicero (on the Stoics)
Translation by Walter Miller (1913)
Cicero (on the Stoics), On Duties 2.28
And so, when foreign nations had been oppressed and ruined, we have seen a model of Marseilles carried in a triumphal procession, to serve as proof to the world that the supremacy of the people had been forfeited; and that triumph we saw celebrated over a city without whose help our generals have never gained a triumph for their wars beyond the Alps. I might mention many other outrages against our allies, if the sun had ever beheld anything more infamous than this particular one. Justly, therefore, are we being punished. For if we had not allowed the crimes of many to go unpunished, so great licence would never have centred in one individual. His estate descended by inheritance to but a few individuals, his ambitions to many scoundrels.
Cite this passage
Cicero (on the Stoics), On Duties 2.28, tr. Walter Miller (1913)
https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/on-duties/2.28
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 notesMore on Rome's decline: parading a model of a loyal allied city in a victory procession was a shameful act. Letting the crimes of many go unpunished let one man seize unlimited licence, and his ambitions passed to many scoundrels.
Older wording
- “triumphal procession”
- — a victory parade for a Roman general
- “licence”
- — unchecked freedom to do as one likes
Themes and situations
- Justice and fairness
- Leadership and power
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