Cicero (on the Stoics) · 106–43 BCE
On Duties 3.44 — Cicero (on the Stoics)
Translation by Walter Miller (1913)
Cicero (on the Stoics), On Duties 3.44
But when he comes to pronounce the verdict under oath, he should remember that he has God as his witness—that is, as I understand it, his own conscience, than which God himself has bestowed upon man nothing more divine. From this point of view it is a fine custom that we have inherited from our forefathers (if we were only true to it now), to appeal to the juror with this formula—"to do what he can consistently with his sacred honour." This form of appeal is in keeping with what I said a moment ago would be morally right for a judge to concede to a friend. For supposing that we were bound to do everything that our friends desired, such relations would have to be accounted not friendships but conspiracies.
Cite this passage
Cicero (on the Stoics), On Duties 3.44, tr. Walter Miller (1913)
https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/on-duties/3.44
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 notesWhen you must give a fair verdict, your conscience is the witness you answer to, and it is the most divine thing a person has. If friendship meant doing whatever a friend wanted, it would be a conspiracy rather than a friendship, so what you owe a friend is limited by what is right.
Themes and situations
- Friendship
- Justice and fairness
- Virtue and character
- Duty and roles
- An ethical dilemma
- Trouble with a friend
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