Cicero (on the Stoics) · 106–43 BCE
On Duties 3.9 — Cicero (on the Stoics)
Translation by Walter Miller (1913)
Cicero (on the Stoics), On Duties 3.9
Now, I cannot possibly accept the view of those who say that that point was not overlooked but purposely omitted by Panaetius, and that it was not one that ever needed discussion, because there never can be such a thing as a conflict between expediency and moral rectitude. But with regard to this assertion, the one point may admit of doubt—whether that question which is third in Panaetius's classification ought to have been included or omitted altogether; but the other point is not open to debate—that it was included in Panaetius's plan but left unwritten. For, if a writer has finished two divisions of a threefold subject, the third must necessarily remain for him to do. Besides, he promises at the close of the third book that he will discuss this division also in its proper turn.
Cite this passage
Cicero (on the Stoics), On Duties 3.9, tr. Walter Miller (1913)
https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/on-duties/3.9
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 notesAn argument about textual history: the third part of Panaetius's plan was meant to be written but never was, whatever one thinks of whether right and advantage can ever conflict.
Older wording
- “expediency”
- — usefulness or advantage
- “moral rectitude”
- — morally correct conduct
Themes and situations
- Duty and roles
- Virtue and character
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