Cicero (on the Stoics) · 106–43 BCE
On Duties 3.45 — Cicero (on the Stoics)
Translation by Walter Miller (1913)
Cicero (on the Stoics), On Duties 3.45
But I am speaking here of ordinary friendships; for among men who are ideally wise and perfect such situations cannot arise. They say that Damon and Phintias, of the Pythagorean school, enjoyed such ideally perfect friendship, that when the tyrant Dionysius had appointed a day for the execution of one of them, and the one who had been condemned to death requested a few days' respite for the purpose of putting his loved ones in the care of friends, the other became surety for his appearance, with the understanding that if his friend did not return, he himself should be put to death. And when the friend returned on the day appointed, the tyrant in admiration for their faithfulness begged that they would enrol him as a third partner in their friendship.
Cite this passage
Cicero (on the Stoics), On Duties 3.45, tr. Walter Miller (1913)
https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/on-duties/3.45
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 notesThe story of Damon and Phintias shows an ideal friendship: one man stood surety for the other, who had been sentenced to death, and risked his own life on his friend's return, and both proved so faithful that the tyrant asked to join them as a third friend. Such perfect loyalty belongs to the truly wise, while ordinary friendships are messier.
Older wording
- “surety”
- — someone who guarantees another's promise
- “respite”
- — a delay or breathing space
Themes and situations
- Friendship
- Courage
- Virtue and character
Quote cards
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