Cicero (on the Stoics) · 106–43 BCE
On Duties 1.145 — Cicero (on the Stoics)
Translation by Walter Miller (1913)
Cicero (on the Stoics), On Duties 1.145
But flagrant breaches of good breeding, like singing in the streets or any other gross misconduct, are easily apparent and do not call especially for admonition and instruction. But we must even more carefully avoid those seemingly trivial faults which pass unnoticed by the many. However slightly out of tune a harp or flute may be, the fault is still detected by a connoisseur; so we must be on the watch lest haply something in our life be out of tune—nay, rather, far greater is the need for painstaking, inasmuch as harmony of actions is far better and far more important than harmony of sounds.
Cite this passage
Cicero (on the Stoics), On Duties 1.145, tr. Walter Miller (1913)
https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/on-duties/1.145
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 notesGlaring bad manners are easy to spot and need little correction, so the real work is catching small lapses that most people never notice. An expert ear hears a slightly flat note, and the harmony of our actions deserves even more careful attention than the harmony of music.
Older wording
- “admonition”
- — a warning or gentle correction
- “connoisseur”
- — an expert judge of fine points
- “haply”
- — perhaps, by chance
Themes and situations
- Self-discipline and habit
- Virtue and character
- Learning and progress
Quote cards
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