Cicero (on the Stoics) · 106–43 BCE
On Duties 3.107 — Cicero (on the Stoics)
Translation by Walter Miller (1913)
Cicero (on the Stoics), On Duties 3.107
Furthermore, we have laws regulating warfare, and fidelity to an oath must often be observed in dealings with an enemy: for an oath sworn with the clear understanding in one's own mind that it should be performed must be kept; but if there is no such understanding, it does not count as perjury if one does not perform the vow. For example, suppose that one does not deliver the amount agreed upon with pirates as the price of one's life, that would be accounted no deception—not even if one should fail to deliver the ransom after having sworn to do so; for a pirate is not included in the number of lawful enemies, but is the common foe of all the world; and with him there ought not to be any pledged word nor any oath mutually binding.
Cite this passage
Cicero (on the Stoics), On Duties 3.107, tr. Walter Miller (1913)
https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/on-duties/3.107
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 notesA note on the limits of oaths: promises should be kept even to an enemy in war if sworn with real intent, but failing to pay a ransom agreed with pirates is no deception, since pirates are enemies of everyone and no pledge binds you to them.
Older wording
- “perjury”
- — breaking an oath or lying under oath
- “lawful enemies”
- — enemies recognised under the rules of war
Themes and situations
- Justice and fairness
- Duty and roles
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