De Officiis
Encyclopedia
De Officiis is an essay
by Marcus Tullius Cicero
divided into three books, in which Cicero expounds his conception of the best way to live, behave, and observe moral obligations.
. Despite his efforts, the republican system failed to revive even upon the assassination of Caesar, and Cicero was himself assassinated shortly thereafter.
The essay was written in the form of a letter to his son with the same name, who studied philosophy in Athens
. Judging from its form, it is nonetheless likely that Cicero wrote with a broader audience in mind. The essay was published posthumously.
De Officiis has been characterized as an attempt to define ideals of public behavior. It criticizes the recently overthrown dictator Julius Caesar
in several places, and his dictatorship as a whole.
. The essay discusses what is honorable, what is expedient, and what to do when these values conflict. Cicero believed they are the same and that they only appear to be in conflict.
Cicero claims that the absence of political rights corrupts moral values. Cicero also speaks of a natural law
that is said to govern both humans and gods
alike; this has been compared to the writings of Oliver Wendell Holmes
.
Cicero urged his son Marcus to follow nature and wisdom, as well as politics, and warned against pleasure and indolence. Cicero's essay relies heavily on anecdote
s, much more than his other works, and is written in a more leisurely and less formal style than his other writings, perhaps because he wrote it hastily. Like the satire
s of Juvenal, Cicero's De Officiis refers frequently to current events of his time.
work, St. Ambrose in 390 declared it legitimate for the Church
to use (along with everything else Cicero, and the equally popular Roman philosopher Seneca
, had written). It became the moral authority during the Middle Ages
. Of the Church Fathers
, Saint Augustine
, St. Jerome and even more so St. Thomas Aquinas, are known to have been familiar with it. Illustrating its importance, some 700 handwritten copies remain extant in libraries around the world dating back to before the invention of the printing press
. Only the Latin grammarian Priscian
is better attested to with such handwritten copies, with some 900 remaining extant. Following the invention of the printing press
, De Officiis was the second book to be printed—second only to the Gutenberg Bible
.
In the 16th century, Erasmus developed a pocket version of it, since he thought it so important that one should always be able to keep it at hand. T. W. Baldwin said that "in Shakespeare's day De Officiis was the pinnacle of moral philosophy". Sir Thomas Elyot, in his popular Governour (1531), lists three essential texts for bringing up young gentlemen: Plato
's Works, Aristotle's Ethics
, and De Officiis.
In the 18th century, Voltaire
said of De Officiis "No one will ever write anything more wise". Frederick the Great thought so highly of the book that he asked the scholar Christian Garve
to do a new translation of it, even though there had been already two German translations since 1756. Garve's project resulted in 880 additional pages of commentary.
It continues to be one of the most popular of Cicero's works because of its style, and because of its depiction of Roman political life under the Republic.
Essay
An essay is a piece of writing which is often written from an author's personal point of view. Essays can consist of a number of elements, including: literary criticism, political manifestos, learned arguments, observations of daily life, recollections, and reflections of the author. The definition...
by Marcus Tullius Cicero
Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero , was a Roman philosopher, statesman, lawyer, political theorist, and Roman constitutionalist. He came from a wealthy municipal family of the equestrian order, and is widely considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists.He introduced the Romans to the chief...
divided into three books, in which Cicero expounds his conception of the best way to live, behave, and observe moral obligations.
Origin
De Officiis was written in October-November of 44 BC, in under four weeks. This was Cicero's last year alive, and he was 62 years of age. Cicero was at this time still active in politics, trying to stop revolutionary forces from taking control of the Roman RepublicRoman Republic
The Roman Republic was the period of the ancient Roman civilization where the government operated as a republic. It began with the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, traditionally dated around 508 BC, and its replacement by a government headed by two consuls, elected annually by the citizens and...
. Despite his efforts, the republican system failed to revive even upon the assassination of Caesar, and Cicero was himself assassinated shortly thereafter.
The essay was written in the form of a letter to his son with the same name, who studied philosophy in Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
. Judging from its form, it is nonetheless likely that Cicero wrote with a broader audience in mind. The essay was published posthumously.
De Officiis has been characterized as an attempt to define ideals of public behavior. It criticizes the recently overthrown dictator Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
in several places, and his dictatorship as a whole.
Contents
Cicero was influenced heavily by Greek philosophy, and particularly by StoicismStoicism
Stoicism is a school of Hellenistic philosophy founded in Athens by Zeno of Citium in the early . The Stoics taught that destructive emotions resulted from errors in judgment, and that a sage, or person of "moral and intellectual perfection," would not suffer such emotions.Stoics were concerned...
. The essay discusses what is honorable, what is expedient, and what to do when these values conflict. Cicero believed they are the same and that they only appear to be in conflict.
Cicero claims that the absence of political rights corrupts moral values. Cicero also speaks of a natural law
Natural law
Natural law, or the law of nature , is any system of law which is purportedly determined by nature, and thus universal. Classically, natural law refers to the use of reason to analyze human nature and deduce binding rules of moral behavior. Natural law is contrasted with the positive law Natural...
that is said to govern both humans and gods
Deity
A deity is a recognized preternatural or supernatural immortal being, who may be thought of as holy, divine, or sacred, held in high regard, and respected by believers....
alike; this has been compared to the writings of Oliver Wendell Holmes
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. was an American jurist who served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1902 to 1932...
.
Cicero urged his son Marcus to follow nature and wisdom, as well as politics, and warned against pleasure and indolence. Cicero's essay relies heavily on anecdote
Anecdote
An anecdote is a short and amusing or interesting story about a real incident or person. It may be as brief as the setting and provocation of a bon mot. An anecdote is always presented as based on a real incident involving actual persons, whether famous or not, usually in an identifiable place...
s, much more than his other works, and is written in a more leisurely and less formal style than his other writings, perhaps because he wrote it hastily. Like the satire
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
s of Juvenal, Cicero's De Officiis refers frequently to current events of his time.
Legacy
The work's legacy is profound. Although not a ChristianChristianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
work, St. Ambrose in 390 declared it legitimate for the Church
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
to use (along with everything else Cicero, and the equally popular Roman philosopher Seneca
Seneca the Younger
Lucius Annaeus Seneca was a Roman Stoic philosopher, statesman, dramatist, and in one work humorist, of the Silver Age of Latin literature. He was tutor and later advisor to emperor Nero...
, had written). It became the moral authority during the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
. Of the Church Fathers
Church Fathers
The Church Fathers, Early Church Fathers, Christian Fathers, or Fathers of the Church were early and influential theologians, eminent Christian teachers and great bishops. Their scholarly works were used as a precedent for centuries to come...
, Saint Augustine
Augustine of Hippo
Augustine of Hippo , also known as Augustine, St. Augustine, St. Austin, St. Augoustinos, Blessed Augustine, or St. Augustine the Blessed, was Bishop of Hippo Regius . He was a Latin-speaking philosopher and theologian who lived in the Roman Africa Province...
, St. Jerome and even more so St. Thomas Aquinas, are known to have been familiar with it. Illustrating its importance, some 700 handwritten copies remain extant in libraries around the world dating back to before the invention of the printing press
Printing press
A printing press is a device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a print medium , thereby transferring the ink...
. Only the Latin grammarian Priscian
Priscian
Priscianus Caesariensis , commonly known as Priscian, was a Latin grammarian. He wrote the Institutiones grammaticae on the subject...
is better attested to with such handwritten copies, with some 900 remaining extant. Following the invention of the printing press
Printing press
A printing press is a device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a print medium , thereby transferring the ink...
, De Officiis was the second book to be printed—second only to the Gutenberg Bible
Gutenberg Bible
The Gutenberg Bible was the first major book printed with a movable type printing press, and marked the start of the "Gutenberg Revolution" and the age of the printed book. Widely praised for its high aesthetic and artistic qualities, the book has an iconic status...
.
In the 16th century, Erasmus developed a pocket version of it, since he thought it so important that one should always be able to keep it at hand. T. W. Baldwin said that "in Shakespeare's day De Officiis was the pinnacle of moral philosophy". Sir Thomas Elyot, in his popular Governour (1531), lists three essential texts for bringing up young gentlemen: Plato
Plato
Plato , was a Classical Greek philosopher, mathematician, student of Socrates, writer of philosophical dialogues, and founder of the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. Along with his mentor, Socrates, and his student, Aristotle, Plato helped to lay the...
's Works, Aristotle's Ethics
Nicomachean Ethics
The Nicomachean Ethics is the name normally given to Aristotle's best known work on ethics. The English version of the title derives from Greek Ἠθικὰ Νικομάχεια, transliterated Ethika Nikomacheia, which is sometimes also given in the genitive form as Ἠθικῶν Νικομαχείων, Ethikōn Nikomacheiōn...
, and De Officiis.
In the 18th century, Voltaire
Voltaire
François-Marie Arouet , better known by the pen name Voltaire , was a French Enlightenment writer, historian and philosopher famous for his wit and for his advocacy of civil liberties, including freedom of religion, free trade and separation of church and state...
said of De Officiis "No one will ever write anything more wise". Frederick the Great thought so highly of the book that he asked the scholar Christian Garve
Christian Garve
Christian Garve was one of the best-known philosophers of the late Enlightenment along with Immanuel Kant and Moses Mendelssohn.-Life:...
to do a new translation of it, even though there had been already two German translations since 1756. Garve's project resulted in 880 additional pages of commentary.
It continues to be one of the most popular of Cicero's works because of its style, and because of its depiction of Roman political life under the Republic.
Quotes
- ..and brave he surely cannot possibly be that counts pain the supreme evil, nor temperate he that holds pleasure to be the supreme good. (No man can be brave who thinks pain the greatest evil; nor temperate, who considers pleasure the highest good) [Lat., fortis vero dolorem summum malum iudicans aut temperans voluptatem summum bonumSummum bonumSummum bonum is an expression used in philosophy, particularly in medieval philosophy and in the philosophy of Immanuel Kant, to describe the ultimate importance, the singular and most ultimate end which human beings ought to pursue. The summum bonum is generally thought of as being an end in...
statuens esse certe nullo modo potest.] (I, 5) - We are not born, we do not live for ourselves alone; our country, our friends, have a share in us. (We are not born for ourselves alone.) [Lat., non nobis solumNon nobis solumNon nobis solum is a Latin motto. A common variation is non nobis, sed omnibus . It means that people should contribute to the general greater good of humanity, apart from their own interests....
nati sumus ortusque nostri partem patria vindicat, partem amici] (I, 22) - Let us remember that justice must be observed even to the lowest. [Lat., Meminerimus autem etiam adversus infimos iustitiam esse servandam.] (I, 41)
- Let arms yield to the toga, the laurel defer to praise. [Lat., cedant arma togae concedat laurea laudi] (I, 77)
- It is the function of justice not to do wrong to one's fellow-men; of considerateness, not to wound their feelings; and in this the essence of propriety is best seen. (Justice consists in doing no injury to men; decency in giving them no offense.) [Lat., Iustitiae partes sunt non violare homines, verecundiae non offendere, in quo maxime vis perspicitur decori.] (I, 99)
- Is anyone unaware that Fortune plays a major role in both success and failure. (Fortune plays a role in all success and failure) [Lat., Magnam vim esse in fortuna in utramque partem, vel secundas ad res vel adversas, quis ignorat?] (II, 19)
- Of evils choose the least. [Lat., Primum minima de malis?] (III, 102)
Resources and further reading
- Why Cicero's De Officiis? By Ben R. Schneider, Jr. Professor Emeritus of English at Lawrence University.
- Marcus Tullius Cicero et al., Cicero: On Duties (Cambridge Texts in the History of Political Thought), Cambridge University Press (February 21, 1991).
- Nelson, N. E., Cicero's De Officiis in Christian Thought, University of Michigan Studies in Language and Literature 10 (1933).
External links
- De Officiis online in English
- De Officiis online in Latin at The Latin LibraryThe Latin LibraryThe Latin Library is a website that collects public domain Latin texts. The texts have been drawn from different sources. Many were originally scanned and formatted from texts in the Public Domain. Others have been downloaded from various sites on the Internet . Most of the recent texts have been...