It is from these elements that is forged and fashioned that moral goodness which is the subject of this inquiry—something that, even though it be not generally ennobled, is still worthy of all honour and by its own nature, we correctly maintain, it merits praise even though it be praised by none. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, ... {11} IV. Such a worker in the field of astronomy, for example, was Gaius Sulpicius, of whom we have heard; in mathematics, Sextus Pompey, whom I have known personally; in dialectics, many; in civil law, still more. Cicero de Officiis. : Vale igitur mi Cicero tibique persuade esse te mihi quidem carissimum sed multo cariorem si talibus monimentis [sic] preceptisque letabere. [17] Before the three remaining virtues, on the other hand, is set the task of providing and maintaining those things on which the practical business of life depends so that the relations of man to man in human society may be conserved, and that largeness and nobility of soul may be revealed not only in increasing one’s resources and acquiring advantages for one’s self and one’s family but far more in rising superior to these very things. section 1 section 2 section 3 section 4 section 5 section 6 section 7 section 8 section 9 section 10 section 11 section 12 section 13 section 14 section 15 section 16 section 17 section 18 section 19 section 20 section 21 section 22 section 23 section 24 section 25 section 26 ... M. Tullius Cicero. Language Latin. For example, if you have made an appointment with anyone to appear as his advocate in court, and if in the meantime your son should fall dangerously ill, it would be no breach of your moral duty to fail in what you agreed to do; nay, rather, he to whom your promise was given would have a false conception of duty if he should complain that he had been deserted in time of need. Harvard University Press; Cambridge, Mass., London, England. So extremely scrupulous was the observance of the laws in regard to the conduct of war. [100] Further, as to the duty which has its source in propriety, the first road on which it conducts us leads to harmony with Nature and the faithful observance of her laws. New here is his exploration in §107 of the difference between the universal nature and particular nature with which each person is endowed.]. In my opinion, at least, we should always strive to secure a peace that shall not admit of guile. Translated by Thomas Habinek 2012: This is the first Modern English translation of Ambrose's Latin. Why, wild creatures often fall into snares undriven and unpursued. Bracketed words or phrases usually represent my effort to clarify a term or reference. As a result strength of character and self-control will shine forth in all their lustre. Parents are dear; dear are children, relatives, friends; one native land embraces all our loves; and who that is true would hesitate to give his life for her, if by his death he could render her a service? Consulta qui la traduzione all'italiano di Paragrafo 28, Libro 1 dell'opera latina De Officiis, di Cicerone Cicero adapts this philosophy in De Officiis to provide moral (i.e., ethical and political) guidance for his son. But, thus guided in his decision, the good man will always perform his duty, promoting the general interests of human society on which I am so fond of dwelling. De officiis [., Cicero, Gardiner, George B.] But suppose one would be able, by remaining alive, to render signal service to the state and to human society—if from that motive one should take something from another, it would not be a matter for censure. For many people often do favours impulsively for everybody without discrimination, prompted by a morbid sort of benevolence or by a sudden impulse of the heart, shifting the wind. But as regards special duties for which positive rules are laid down, though they are affected by the doctrine of the supreme good, still the fact is not so obvious, because they seem rather to look to the regulation of everyday life; and it is these special duties that I propose to treat at length in the following books. An XML version of this text is available for download, Liber primus Rainer Lohmann prosa 1 De Officiis Einführung Liber tertius Einleitung Ethik als Thema Definition und Einteilung der Pflichten 1. The few passages below from Book 3 are statements found in this book especially relevant to the law of nature and its realization as a guide in human life.]. Od. [12] Nature likewise by the power of reason associates man with man in the common bonds of speech and life; she implants in him alone above all, I may say, a strangely tender love for his offspring. Again, there are certain duties that we owe even to those who have wronged us. And so, when we have leisure from the demands of business cares, we are eager to see, to hear, to learn something new, and we esteem a desire to know the secrets or wonders of creation as indispensable to a happy life. For the whole glory of virtue is in activity; activity, however, may often be interrupted, and many opportunities for returning to study are opened. The third type of question arises when that which seems to be expedient seems to conflict with that which is morally right; for when expediency seems to be pulling one way, while moral right seems to be calling back in the opposite direction, the result is that the mind is distracted in its inquiry and brings to it the irresolution that is born of deliberation. on Amazon.com. : Harvard University Press. [31] But occasions often arise, when those duties which seem most becoming to the just man and to the “good man,” as we call him, undergo a change and take on a contrary aspect. Cicero, De Officiis, iii. [24] Then, too, those very wrongs which people try to inflict on purpose to injure are often the result of fear: that is, he who premeditates injuring another is afraid that, if he does not do so, he may himself be made to suffer some hurt. Cicero, De Officiis 1.14. Current location in this text. In no other particular are we farther removed from the nature of beasts; for we admit that they may have courage (horses and lions, for example); but we do not admit that they have justice, equity, and goodness; for they are not endowed with reason or speech. For no phase of life, whether public or private, whether in business or in the home, whether one is working on what concerns oneself alone or dealing with another, can be without its moral duty; on the discharge of such duties depends all that is morally right, and on their neglect all that is morally wrong in life. And therefore we may follow the Stoics, who diligently investigate the etymology of words; and we may accept their statement that “good faith” is so called because what is promised is “made good,” although some may find this derivation rather farfetched. Bracketed words or phrases usually represent my effort to clarify a term or reference. changes, storing new additions in a versioning system. Again, every action ought to be free from undue haste or carelessness; neither ought we to do anything for which we cannot assign a reasonable motive; for in these words we have practically a definition of duty. [, The Influence of the Scottish Enlightenment. [, In this example he effectively teaches us all to bestow even upon a stranger what it costs us nothing to give. For we are all attracted and drawn to a zeal for learning and knowing; and we think it glorious to excel therein, while we count it base and immoral to fall into error, to wander from the truth, to be ignorant, to be led astray. Cicero, de officiis 1,34-36 [58] Now, if a contrast and comparison were to be made to find out where most of our moral obligation is due, country would come first, and parents; for their services have laid us under the heaviest obligation; next come children and the whole family, who look to us alone for support and can have no other protection; finally, our kinsmen, with whom we live on good terms and with whom, for the most part, our lot is one. The following questions are illustrative of the first part: whether all duties are absolute; whether one duty is more important than another; and so on. This bond of union is closer between those who belong to the same nation, and more intimate still between those who are citizens of the same city-state. Hauptteil: Die aus der Tugend entspringenden Pflichten Definition und Einteilung Die Tugend der Einsicht und die daraus hervorgehenden Pflichten (1. For it is only when they agree with Nature’s laws that we should give our approval to the movements not only of the body, but still more of the spirit. But a still closer social union exists between kindred. And not only minds but bodies as well are disordered by such appetites. If, therefore these schools should claim to be consistent, they could not say anything about duty; and no fixed, invariable, natural rules of duty can be posited except by those who say that moral goodness is worth seeking solely or chiefly for its own sake. [99] We should, therefore, in our dealings with people show what I may almost call reverence toward all men—not only toward the men who are the best, but toward others as well. He studied in Athens and on the island of Rhodes where he probably got his stoic inspiration from. We are not to say, therefore, that sickness or want or any evil of that sort is more repugnant to Nature than to covet and to appropriate what is one’s neighbour’s; but we do maintain that disregard of the common interests is repugnant to Nature; for it is unjust. [48] But if, as Hesiod bids, one is to repay with interest, if possible, what one has borrowed in time of need, what, pray, ought we to do when challenged by an unsought kindness? Hunter College, CUNY John R.Wallach POLSC 201 Fall, 2020 READING QUESTIONS: CICERO, On Duties (De Officiis) Cicero writes out of the Stoic tradition of philosophizing, which originated in ancient Greece but became significantly more prominent in Rome. [31] And therefore Nature’s law itself, which protects and conserves human interests, will surely determine that a man who is wise, good, and brave, should in emergency have the necessaries of life transferred to him from a person who is idle and worthless; for the good man’s death would be a heavy loss to the common weal; only let him beware that self-esteem and self-love do not find in such a transfer of possessions a pretext for wrong-doing. Find in this title: Find again Cicero De Officiis, translated with an Introduction and Notes by Andrew P. Peabody (Boston: Little, Brown, and Co., 1887). De Officiis. It is for this reason that our forefathers chose to understand one thing by the universal law and another by the civil law. With An English Translation. [6] Although these truths are so self-evident that the subject does not call for discussion, still I have discussed it in another connection. Hence we may clearly see how wide is the application not only of that propriety which is essential to moral rectitude in general, but also of the special propriety which is displayed in each particular subdivision of virtue. [13] Above all, the search after truth and its eager pursuit are peculiar to man. I wish they had not destroyed Corinth; but I believe they had some special reason for what they did—its convenient situation, probably—and feared that its very location might some day furnish a temptation to renew the war.