Cicero (on the Stoics) · 106–43 BCE
On Duties 3.47 — Cicero (on the Stoics)
Translation by Walter Miller (1913)
Cicero (on the Stoics), On Duties 3.47
They, too, do wrong who would debar foreigners from enjoying the advantages of their city and would exclude them from its borders, as was done by Pennus in the time of our fathers, and in recent times by Papius. It may not be right, of course, for one who is not a citizen to exercise the rights and privileges of citizenship; and the law on this point was secured by two of our wisest consuls, Crassus and Scaevola. Still, to debar foreigners from enjoying the advantages of the city is altogether contrary to the laws of humanity. There are splendid examples in history where the apparent expediency of the state has been set at naught out of regard for moral rectitude. Our own country has many instances to offer throughout her history, and especially in the Second Punic War, when news came of the disaster at Cannae, Rome displayed a loftier courage than ever she did in success; never a trace of faint-heartedness, never a mention of making terms. The influence of moral right is so potent, that it eclipses the specious appearance of expediency.
Cite this passage
Cicero (on the Stoics), On Duties 3.47, tr. Walter Miller (1913)
https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/on-duties/3.47
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 notesShutting foreigners out of the benefits of a city is contrary to the laws of humanity, even if non-citizens may not hold full civic rights. Rome's response to the disaster at Cannae, refusing even to discuss terms, shows how moral commitment can outweigh apparent advantage and bring out more courage in defeat than in success.
Older wording
- “debar”
- — shut out or exclude
- “set at naught”
- — disregarded entirely
Themes and situations
- Community and our duty to others
- Justice and fairness
- Courage
- Kindness and forgiveness
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