Cicero (on the Stoics) · 106–43 BCE
On Duties 3.27 — Cicero (on the Stoics)
Translation by Walter Miller (1913)
Cicero (on the Stoics), On Duties 3.27
And further, if Nature ordains that one man shall desire to promote the interests of a fellow-man, whoever he may be, just because he is a fellow-man, then it follows, in accordance with that same Nature, that there are interests that all men have in common. And, if this is true, we are all subject to one and the same law of Nature; and, if this also is true, we are certainly forbidden by Nature's law to wrong our neighbour. Now the first assumption is true; therefore the conclusion is likewise true.
Cite this passage
Cicero (on the Stoics), On Duties 3.27, tr. Walter Miller (1913)
https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/on-duties/3.27
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 notesBecause nature leads us to want to help another person simply because they are human, we share common interests and one natural law, and that law forbids us to wrong one another. The passage lays this out as a short chain of logical steps to ground the duty not to harm others.
Themes and situations
- Community and our duty to others
- Nature and the cosmos
- Justice and fairness
Quote cards
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