Cicero (on the Stoics) · 106–43 BCE
On Duties 1.110 — Cicero (on the Stoics)
Translation by Walter Miller (1913)
Cicero (on the Stoics), On Duties 1.110
Everybody, however, must resolutely hold fast to his own peculiar gifts, in so far as they are peculiar only and not vicious, in order that propriety, which is the object of our inquiry, may the more easily be secured. For we must so act as not to oppose the universal laws of human nature, but, while safeguarding those, to follow the bent of our own particular nature; and even if other careers should be better and nobler, we may still regulate our own pursuits by the standard of our own nature. For it is of no avail to fight against one's nature or to aim at what is impossible of attainment. From this fact the nature of that propriety defined above comes into still clearer light, inasmuch as nothing is proper that "goes against the grain," as the saying is—that is, if it is in direct opposition to one's natural genius.
Cite this passage
Cicero (on the Stoics), On Duties 1.110, tr. Walter Miller (1913)
https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/on-duties/1.110
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 notesStay true to your own particular gifts, as long as they are not vicious and do not conflict with the universal laws of human nature, even if other careers look nobler. Fighting your own nature or aiming at the impossible is useless, and nothing is fitting that goes against the grain of your natural talent.
Older wording
- “vicious”
- — morally bad
- “bent”
- — natural inclination
- “peculiar”
- — belonging specially to one person
Themes and situations
- Nature and the cosmos
- Duty and roles
- Learning and progress
- Virtue and character
- A hard decision
- A career setback
- Searching for meaning
- Envy and comparison
Quote cards
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