Cicero (on the Stoics) · 106–43 BCE
On Duties 2.86 — Cicero (on the Stoics)
Translation by Walter Miller (1913)
Cicero (on the Stoics), On Duties 2.86
Now, in this list of rules touching expediency, Antipater of Tyre, a Stoic philosopher who recently died at Athens, claims that two points were overlooked by Panaetius—the care of health and of property. I presume that the eminent philosopher overlooked these two items because they present no difficulty. At all events they are expedient. Although they are a matter of course, I will still say a few words on the subject. Individual health is preserved by studying one s own constitution, by observing what is good or bad for one, by constant self-control in supplying physical wants and comforts (but only to the extent necessary to self-preservation), by forgoing sensual pleasures, and finally, by the professional skill of those to whose science these matters belong.
Cite this passage
Cicero (on the Stoics), On Duties 2.86, tr. Walter Miller (1913)
https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/on-duties/2.86
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 notesLooking after your health is a legitimate duty: learn what suits and harms your own body, keep comforts to what you actually need, give up excessive pleasures, and use professional medical skill where it is called for.
Older wording
- “expedient”
- — useful or advantageous
- “constitution”
- — your bodily make-up and natural health
Themes and situations
- Illness and the body
- Self-discipline and habit
- Pleasure and pain
- Illness or diagnosis
- Breaking a bad habit
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