Cicero (on the Stoics) · 106–43 BCE
On Duties 1.124 — Cicero (on the Stoics)
Translation by Walter Miller (1913)
Cicero (on the Stoics), On Duties 1.124
At this point it is not at all irrelevant to discuss the duties of magistrates, of private individuals, [of native citizens,] and of foreigners. It is, then, peculiarly the place of a magistrate to bear in mind that he represents the state and that it is his duty to uphold its honour and its dignity, to enforce the law, to dispense to all their constitutional rights, and to remember that all this has been committed to him as a sacred trust. The private individual ought first, in private relations, to live on fair and equal terms with his fellowcitizens, with a spirit neither servile and grovelling nor yet domineering; and second, in matters pertaining to the state, to labour for her peace and honour; for such a man we are accustomed to esteem and call a good citizen.
Cite this passage
Cicero (on the Stoics), On Duties 1.124, tr. Walter Miller (1913)
https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/on-duties/1.124
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 notesEach role carries its own duties. A public official must remember that he represents the state and holds its laws and honour in trust, while an ordinary person should deal with others as equals, neither grovelling nor bossing people around, and work for the peace and good name of the community.
Older wording
- “magistrate”
- — a public official holding office on behalf of the state
- “grovelling”
- — crawling, servile behaviour
Themes and situations
- Duty and roles
- Community and our duty to others
- Leadership and power
- Leading others
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