Cicero (on the Stoics) · 106–43 BCE
On Duties 3.48 — Cicero (on the Stoics)
Translation by Walter Miller (1913)
Cicero (on the Stoics), On Duties 3.48
When the Athenians could in no way stem the tide of the Persian invasion and determined to abandon their city, bestow their wives and children in safety at Troezen, embark upon their ships, and fight on the sea for the freedom of Greece, a man named Cyrsilus proposed that they should stay at home and open the gates of their city to Xerxes. They stoned him to death for it. And yet he was working for what he thought was expediency; but it was not—not at all, for it clashed with moral rectitude.
Cite this passage
Cicero (on the Stoics), On Duties 3.48, tr. Walter Miller (1913)
https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/on-duties/3.48
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 notesWhen the Athenians chose to abandon their city and fight the Persians at sea, Cyrsilus urged them to surrender instead and was stoned for it. The example is used to show that what he took for advantage was none, because it clashed with moral rectitude.
Older wording
- “expediency”
- — usefulness or advantage
- “moral rectitude”
- — morally correct conduct
Themes and situations
- Courage
- Duty and roles
- Community and our duty to others
Quote cards
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