Cicero (on the Stoics) · 106–43 BCE
On Duties 3.29 — Cicero (on the Stoics)
Translation by Walter Miller (1913)
Cicero (on the Stoics), On Duties 3.29
But, perhaps, someone may say: "Well, then, suppose a wise man were starving to death, might he not take the bread of some perfectly useless member of society?" [Not at all; for my life is not more precious to me than that temper of soul which would keep me from doing wrong to anybody for my own advantage.] "Or again; supposing a righteous man were in a position to rob the cruel and inhuman tyrant Phalaris of clothing, might he not do it to keep himself from freezing to death?"
Cite this passage
Cicero (on the Stoics), On Duties 3.29, tr. Walter Miller (1913)
https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/on-duties/3.29
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 notesPoses a hard test case: may a person who is starving or freezing take bread or clothing from someone worthless or cruel? The bracketed reply insists that your own survival is not worth more than the character that keeps you from wronging anyone for your own advantage.
Older wording
- “temper of soul”
- — state of mind or character
Themes and situations
- Justice and fairness
- Virtue and character
- Adversity and hardship
- An ethical dilemma
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