Cicero (on the Stoics) · 106–43 BCE
On Duties 1.149 — Cicero (on the Stoics)
Translation by Walter Miller (1913)
Cicero (on the Stoics), On Duties 1.149
It is, furthermore, our duty to honour and reverence those whose lives are conspicuous for conduct in keeping with their high moral standards, and who, as true patriots, have rendered or are now rendering efficient service to their country, just as much as if they were invested with some civil or military authority; it is our duty also to show proper respect to old age, to yield precedence to magistrates, to make a distinction between a fellow-citizen and a foreigner, and, in the case of the foreigner himself, to discriminate according to whether he has come in an official or a private capacity. In a word, not to go into details, it is our duty to respect, defend, and maintain the common bonds of union and fellowship subsisting between all the members of the human race.
Cite this passage
Cicero (on the Stoics), On Duties 1.149, tr. Walter Miller (1913)
https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/on-duties/1.149
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 notesWe owe honour to those whose lives show high standards and who serve their country, respect to the old, deference to officials, and sensible distinctions between fellow citizens and foreigners. Underlying all of this is a duty to protect the bonds that tie the whole human race together.
Older wording
- “magistrates”
- — public officials
- “conspicuous”
- — standing out clearly
Themes and situations
- Community and our duty to others
- Duty and roles
- Justice and fairness
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