Cicero (on the Stoics) · 106–43 BCE
On Duties 3.96 — Cicero (on the Stoics)
Translation by Walter Miller (1913)
Cicero (on the Stoics), On Duties 3.96
Since, however, in Book One we derived moral duties from the four sources of moral rectitude, let us continue the same fourfold division here in pointing out how hostile to virtue are those courses of conduct which seem to be, but really are not, expedient. We have discussed wisdom, which cunning seeks to counterfeit, and likewise justice, which is always expedient. There remain for our discussion two divisions of moral rectitude, the one of which is discernible in the greatness and pre-eminence of a superior soul, the other, in the shaping and regulation of it by temperance and self-control.
Cite this passage
Cicero (on the Stoics), On Duties 3.96, tr. Walter Miller (1913)
https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/on-duties/3.96
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 structural signpost: having covered wisdom and justice, Cicero now turns to the remaining two sources of moral goodness, greatness of soul (courage) and temperance (self-control), to show that apparent advantages conflicting with them are not truly advantageous.
Older wording
- “moral rectitude”
- — morally correct conduct
- “temperance”
- — self-restraint
Themes and situations
- Virtue and character
- Courage
- Self-discipline and habit
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