Cicero (on the Stoics) · 106–43 BCE
On Duties 3.93 — Cicero (on the Stoics)
Translation by Walter Miller (1913)
Cicero (on the Stoics), On Duties 3.93
Again: suppose that a millionaire is making some wise man his heir and leaving him in his will a hundred million sesterces; and suppose that he has asked the wise man, before he enters upon his inheritance, to dance publicly in broad daylight in the forum; and suppose that the wise man has given his promise to do so, because the rich man would not leave him his fortune on any other condition; should he keep his promise or not? I wish he had made no such promise; that, I think, would have been in keeping with his dignity. But, seeing that he has made it, it will be morally better for him, if he believes it morally wrong to dance in the forum, to break his promise and refuse to accept his inheritance rather than to keep his promise and accept it—unless, perhaps, he contributes the money to the state to meet some grave crisis. In that case, to promote thereby the interests of one's country, it would not be morally wrong even to dance, if you please, in the forum.
Cite this passage
Cicero (on the Stoics), On Duties 3.93, tr. Walter Miller (1913)
https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/on-duties/3.93
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 notesA test of whether money is worth losing your dignity: a wise man promised to dance in public to inherit a fortune. Cicero thinks he should never have promised and, having promised, should break his word and give up the inheritance if he believes it wrong, unless the money would meet a real national crisis.
Older wording
- “sesterces”
- — Roman silver coins
- “forum”
- — Rome's public square
Themes and situations
- Virtue and character
- Wealth and poverty
- Duty and roles
- Reputation and others' opinions
- An ethical dilemma
- Money, status and wanting more
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