Cicero (on the Stoics) · 106–43 BCE
On Duties 3.98 — Cicero (on the Stoics)
Translation by Walter Miller (1913)
Cicero (on the Stoics), On Duties 3.98
For what do you think would have been said of Ulysses, if he had persisted in that pretended madness, seeing that, notwithstanding his deeds of heroism in the war, he was nevertheless upbraided by Ajax thus: "Twas he himself who first proposed the oath; ye all Do know; yet he alone of all his vow did break; He feigned persistently that he was mad, that thus He might not have to join the host. And had not then Palamedes, shrewd and wise, his tricky impudence Unmasked, he had evaded e'en for aye his vow."
Cite this passage
Cicero (on the Stoics), On Duties 3.98, tr. Walter Miller (1913)
https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/on-duties/3.98
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 tragedy's verses reproach Ulysses as the one man who broke the shared oath and faked madness to avoid the war, until a shrewd colleague exposed him. The point is the shame that follows someone who tries to slip out of a collective duty.
Older wording
- “upbraided”
- — scolded
- “host”
- — army
- “for aye”
- — for ever
Themes and situations
- Courage
- Duty and roles
- Reputation and others' opinions
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