Cicero (on the Stoics) · 106–43 BCE
On Duties 3.76 — Cicero (on the Stoics)
Translation by Walter Miller (1913)
Cicero (on the Stoics), On Duties 3.76
If, on the other hand, anyone should desire to unfold the idea of a good man which lies wrapped up in his own mind, he would then at once make it clear to himself that a good man is one who helps all whom he can and harms nobody, unless provoked by wrong. What shall we say, then? Would he not be doing harm who by a kind of magic spell should succeed in displacing the real heirs to an estate and pushing himself into their place? "Well," someone may say, "is he not to do what is expedient, what is advantageous to himself?" Nay, verily; he should rather be brought to realize that nothing that is unjust is either advantageous or expedient; if he does not learn this lesson, it will never be possible for him to be a "good man."
Cite this passage
Cicero (on the Stoics), On Duties 3.76, tr. Walter Miller (1913)
https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/on-duties/3.76
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 notesA good person is one who helps everyone they can and harms nobody unless provoked by wrong, so someone who would use a magic spell to push the real heirs out of an estate is doing harm. Nothing unjust is ever truly advantageous, and anyone who has not grasped this cannot be good.
Older wording
- “Nay, verily”
- — no, truly
Themes and situations
- Virtue and character
- Justice and fairness
- Kindness and forgiveness
- An ethical dilemma
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