Cicero (on the Stoics) · 106–43 BCE
On Duties 3.51 — Cicero (on the Stoics)
Translation by Walter Miller (1913)
Cicero (on the Stoics), On Duties 3.51
In deciding cases of this kind Diogenes of Babylonia, a great and highly esteemed Stoic, consistently holds one view; his pupil Antipater, a most profound scholar, holds another. According to Antipater all the facts should be disclosed, that the buyer may not be uninformed of any detail that the seller knows; according to Diogenes the seller should declare any defects in his wares, in so far as such a course is prescribed by the common law of the land; but for the rest, since he has goods to sell, he may try to sell them to the best possible advantage, provided he is guilty of no misrepresentation. "I have imported my stock," Diogenes's merchant will say; "I have offered it for sale; I sell at a price no higher than my competitors—perhaps even lower, when the market is overstocked. Who is wronged?"
Cite this passage
Cicero (on the Stoics), On Duties 3.51, tr. Walter Miller (1913)
https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/on-duties/3.51
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 notesTwo Stoic teachers disagree about a seller who knows something the buyer does not: one holds that every relevant fact must be disclosed, the other that a seller need only disclose the defects the law requires, provided he does not misrepresent. The merchant's defence is that he charges no more than his competitors, so no one is wronged.
Older wording
- “wares”
- — goods for sale
Themes and situations
- Justice and fairness
- Wealth and poverty
- Virtue and character
- An ethical dilemma
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