Cicero (on the Stoics) · 106–43 BCE
On Duties 3.115 — Cicero (on the Stoics)
Translation by Walter Miller (1913)
Cicero (on the Stoics), On Duties 3.115
Gaius Acilius, on the other hand, the author of a history of Rome in Greek, says that there were several who played the same trick of returning to the camp to release themselves thus from the obligation of their oath, and that they were branded by the censors with every mark of disgrace. Let this be the conclusion of this topic. For it must be perfectly apparent that acts that are done with a cowardly, craven, abject, broken spirit, as the act of Regulus would have been if he had supported in regard to the prisoners a measure that seemed to be advantageous for him personally, but disadvantageous for the state, or if he had consented to remain at home—that such acts are not expedient, because they are shameful, dishonourable, and immoral.
Cite this passage
Cicero (on the Stoics), On Duties 3.115, tr. Walter Miller (1913)
https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/on-duties/3.115
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 notesOthers used the same trick to escape their oath and were publicly shamed for it. Actions driven by a cowardly, broken spirit can never be genuinely beneficial, because they are shameful, and that is what makes them a bad bargain.
Older wording
- “censors”
- — Roman officials who supervised public morals and conduct
- “expedient”
- — advantageous or useful
Themes and situations
- Virtue and character
- Courage
- Justice and fairness
- An ethical dilemma
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