Cicero (on the Stoics) · 106–43 BCE
On Duties 3.42 — Cicero (on the Stoics)
Translation by Walter Miller (1913)
Cicero (on the Stoics), On Duties 3.42
And yet we are not required to sacrifice our own interests and surrender to others what we need for ourselves, but each one should consider his own interests, as far as he may without injury to his neighbour's. "When a man enters the foot-race," says Chrysippus with his usual aptness, "it is his duty to put forth all his strength and strive with all his might to win; but he ought never with his foot to trip, or with his hand to foul a competitor. Thus in the stadium of life, it is not unfair for anyone to seek to obtain what is needful for his own advantage, but he has no right to wrest it from his neighbour."
Cite this passage
Cicero (on the Stoics), On Duties 3.42, tr. Walter Miller (1913)
https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/on-duties/3.42
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 notesIt is fine to look after your own interests and compete hard to win, as a runner should give everything in a race, but you must never trip or foul a competitor. Seeking what you need is fair; wrenching it from someone else is not.
Older wording
- “wrest”
- — forcibly take away
- “stadium of life”
- — life pictured as a running track
Themes and situations
- Justice and fairness
- Ambition and success
- Virtue and character
- An ethical dilemma
- Conflict at work
Quote cards
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