Cicero (on the Stoics) · 106–43 BCE
On Duties 1.104 — Cicero (on the Stoics)
Translation by Walter Miller (1913)
Cicero (on the Stoics), On Duties 1.104
There are, generally speaking, two sorts of jest: the one, coarse, rude, vicious, indecent; the other, refined, polite, clever, witty. With this latter sort not only our own Plautus and the Old Comedy of Athens, but also the books of Socratic philosophy abound; and we have many witty sayings of many men—like those collected by old Cato under the title of Bons Mots (or Apophthegms). So the distinction between the elegant and the vulgar jest is an easy matter: the one kind, if well timed (for instance, in hours of mental relaxation), is becoming to the most dignified person; the other is unfit for any gentleman, if the subject is indecent and the words obscene. Then, too, certain bounds must be observed in our amusements and we must be careful not to carry things too far and, swept away by our passions, lapse into some shameful excess. Our Campus, however, and the amusements of the chase are examples of wholesome recreation.
Cite this passage
Cicero (on the Stoics), On Duties 1.104, tr. Walter Miller (1913)
https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/on-duties/1.104
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 notesThere are two kinds of humour: coarse, rude and indecent, and refined, witty and well timed, and only the latter suits a dignified person. Keep amusements within bounds so passion does not carry you into shameful excess.
Older wording
- “Apophthegms”
- — short witty sayings
- “Campus”
- — the Campus Martius, a Roman exercise ground
Themes and situations
- Speech and silence
- Self-discipline and habit
- Virtue and character
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