Cicero (on the Stoics) · 106–43 BCE
On Duties 3.84 — Cicero (on the Stoics)
Translation by Walter Miller (1913)
Cicero (on the Stoics), On Duties 3.84
What greater advantage one could have, according to the standard of popular opinion, than to be a king, I do not know; when, however, I begin to bring the question back to the standard of truth, then I find nothing more disadvantageous for one who has risen to that height by injustice. For can occasions for worry, anxiety, fear by day and by night, and a life all beset with plots and perils be of advantage to anybody? "Thrones have many foes and friends untrue, but few devoted friends," says Accius. But of what sort of throne was he speaking? Why, one that was held by right, handed down from Tantalus and Pelops. Aye, but how many more foes, think you, had that king who with the Roman People's army brought the Roman People themselves into subjection and compelled a state that not only had been free but had been mistress of the world to be his slave?
Cite this passage
Cicero (on the Stoics), On Duties 3.84, tr. Walter Miller (1913)
https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/on-duties/3.84
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 notesBy common opinion nothing is more advantageous than being a king, but judged by truth, power won through injustice brings constant worry, fear by day and night, and a life full of plots with few loyal friends. Whoever subjugates the state he once served is the worst off of all.
Older wording
- “beset”
- — surrounded or harassed
- “Aye”
- — yes
Themes and situations
- Ambition and success
- Fear and anxiety
- Leadership and power
- Leading others
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