Cicero (on the Stoics) · 106–43 BCE
On Duties 3.111 — Cicero (on the Stoics)
Translation by Walter Miller (1913)
Cicero (on the Stoics), On Duties 3.111
But of all that is thus praiseworthy in the conduct of Regulus, this one feature above all others calls for our admiration: it was he who offered the motion that the prisoners of war be retained. For the fact of his returning may seem admirable to us nowadays, but in those times he could not have done otherwise. That merit, therefore, belongs to the age, not to the man. For our ancestors were of the opinion that no bond was more effective in guaranteeing good faith than an oath. That is clearly proved by the laws of the Twelve Tables, by the "sacred" laws, by the treaties in which good faith is pledged even to the enemy, by the investigations made by the censors and the penalties imposed by them; for there were no cases in which they used to render more rigorous decisions than in cases of violation of an oath.
Cite this passage
Cicero (on the Stoics), On Duties 3.111, tr. Walter Miller (1913)
https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/on-duties/3.111
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 notesThe admirable part of the Regulus story is the stand he took in the senate, not his return, which was simply what the age demanded. Roman society treated an oath as the strongest guarantee of good faith and punished its violation more severely than almost anything else.
Older wording
- “Twelve Tables”
- — Rome's earliest written code of law
- “censors”
- — Roman officials who supervised public morals and conduct
Themes and situations
- Duty and roles
- Virtue and character
- Justice and fairness
Quote cards
The opening line of this passage as an image, with its citation — for sharing or keeping.