Cicero (on the Stoics) · 106–43 BCE
On Duties 1.29 — Cicero (on the Stoics)
Translation by Walter Miller (1913)
Cicero (on the Stoics), On Duties 1.29
There are some also who, either from zeal in attending to their own business or through some sort of aversion to their fellow-men, claim that they are occupied solely with their own affairs, without seeming to themselves to be doing anyone any injury. But while they steer clear of the one kind of injustice, they fall into the other: they are traitors to social life, for they contribute to it none of their interest, none of their effort, none of their means.
Cite this passage
Cicero (on the Stoics), On Duties 1.29, tr. Walter Miller (1913)
https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/on-duties/1.29
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 notesSome people claim they hurt nobody because they only mind their own business, but by contributing no interest, effort or resources to others they betray social life. Avoiding harm is only half of justice.
Older wording
- “aversion”
- — dislike, reluctance
Themes and situations
- Community and our duty to others
- Duty and roles
- Justice and fairness
- Solitude and retreat
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