Jared's review of Cicero, Volume XXI. On Duties
Cicero, Volume XXI. On Duties (De Officiis): De Officiis (Loeb Classical Library No. 30) by Marcus Tullius Cicero
De Officiis, or “On Duties,” was the second book printed on Gutenberg’s printing press. Apparently, Gutenberg and his other contemporaries knew how important the press was so they wanted to give props to the Bible, as the most important book ever written/compiled—but along those lines he decided to print Cicero’s classic shortly thereafter. Cicero wrote this book as a series of letters to his prodigal child, who had little ambition to be a correct man, like his father was. Consequently, it reads like good advice from your father.
Some of the greatest logos on ethics comes from this book. He will convince you that being an ethical person is the only way to live, and he does it through expediency—“whether the action contemplated is or is not conducive to comfort and happiness in life, to the command of means and wealth, to influence, and to power.” The gist of it is that having good moral character will bring you more expediency in the long run than any illicit be...more
Some of the greatest logos on ethics comes from this book. He will convince you that being an ethical person is the only way to live, and he does it through expediency—“whether the action contemplated is or is not conducive to comfort and happiness in life, to the command of means and wealth, to influence, and to power.” The gist of it is that having good moral character will bring you more expediency in the long run than any illicit be...more
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