Cicero (on the Stoics) · 106–43 BCE
On Duties 2.59 — Cicero (on the Stoics)
Translation by Walter Miller (1913)
Cicero (on the Stoics), On Duties 2.59
And, in making them even in such cases, the rule of the golden mean is best. To be sure, Lucius Philippus, the son of Quintus, a man of great ability and unusual renown, used to make it his boast that without giving any entertainments he had risen to all the positions looked upon as the highest within the gift of the state. Cotta could say the same, and Curio. I, too, may make this boast my own—to a certain extent; for in comparison with the eminence of the offices to which I was unanimously elected at the earliest legal age— and this was not the good fortune of any one of those just mentioned—the outlay in my aedileship was very inconsiderable.
Cite this passage
Cicero (on the Stoics), On Duties 2.59, tr. Walter Miller (1913)
https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/on-duties/2.59
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 notesEven where public spending is called for, moderation is the best rule. Several successful Roman politicians boasted of reaching the highest offices without lavish entertainments, and the author claims the same, saying his own spending in office was small compared with the honours he won.
Older wording
- “golden mean”
- — the balanced middle between too much and too little
- “aedileship”
- — the office of aedile, the Roman official in charge of public games and buildings
Themes and situations
- Ambition and success
- Wealth and poverty
- Pride and humility
- Reputation and others' opinions
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