Cicero (on the Stoics) · 106–43 BCE
On Duties 3.17 — Cicero (on the Stoics)
Translation by Walter Miller (1913)
Cicero (on the Stoics), On Duties 3.17
For these reasons it is unlawful either to weigh true morality against conflicting expediency, or common morality, which is cultivated by those who wish to be considered good men, against what is profitable; but we every-day people must observe and live up to that moral right which comes within the range of our comprehension as jealously as the truly wise men have to observe and live up to that which is morally right in the technical and true sense of the word. For otherwise we cannot maintain such progress as we have made in the direction of virtue. So much for those who have won a reputation for being good men by their careful observance of duty.
Cite this passage
Cicero (on the Stoics), On Duties 3.17, tr. Walter Miller (1913)
https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/on-duties/3.17
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 notesNever trade doing right for personal profit: ordinary people should hold to the moral standard they can grasp as carefully as the truly wise hold to theirs. Letting it slip means losing whatever progress towards virtue you have made.
Older wording
- “expediency”
- — usefulness or advantage
- “jealously”
- — carefully and protectively
Themes and situations
- Virtue and character
- Duty and roles
- Learning and progress
- An ethical dilemma
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