Cicero On Duties (De Officiis)
About the event
We will continue where we left off On August 30th. We are focused on what Cicero means by 'Seemly or Decorum'. We stopped around Section 104 Book 1...Brands of Humor.
Please attempt to read all of Book 1 just in case we gain ground on our discussion. I will post questions on Meetup... 2 to 3 days before our meeting to help us focus on the text.
If you have a particular quote or section of the text you want us to discuss, then please post your inquiry in Meetup. I will do my level best to examine your inquiry.
Basic Background:
Writing at the time of political crisis after the assignation of Julias Caesar in 44 BC, Cicero’s last philosophical work ‘On Duties’, makes use of Greek philosophy to formulate the political and ethical values of Roman Republican not only to his 21 year old son Marcus Cicero Jr, but to all young Romans of the governing class.
Our text is divided into Three Books: Book 1 cover what is honorable I.e., the virtues of human life—wisdom, justice (social cohesion), greatness of spirit (courage), and moderation (temperance)—and details how they apply to daily behavior, arguing that duty exists in every aspect of life. Book 2 focuses on the practicality or utility of how to acquire what is advantageous with respect to one’s resources and reputation. Book 3 examines cases where one’s moral duty conflicts with one’s personal advantage. Cicero concludes that the conflict is just apparent because if one acts viciously for personal gain, then he is not really being beneficial to himself since such actions destroy character and social trust.
The copy I am using is The Cambridge Texts In The History of Political Thought (1991) Edited by M.T. Griffin and E.M. Atkins.
I have a digital copy of the book. If you want a digital copy…just e-mail me at amjol.shrestha@philadelphiastoa.org Also, I have a digital copy of the Loeb Classic (Latin with Miller's translation).
Furthermore, there is a free digital version from the Perseus Digital Library [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A2007.01.0048%3Abook%3D1%3Asection%3D1](https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A2007.01.0048%3Abook%3D1%3Asection%3D1)
You can purchase a physical copy from Abebooks or Amazon https://www.abebooks.com https://www.amazon.com ----------- Lastly, here are some videos that I thought were helpful.
Background of Cicero Cicero's Finest Hour (44 to 43 B.C.E.) [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8DBd3SkuS8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8DBd3SkuS8)
Series on Cicero's On Duties by the Cieronian Society [https://www.youtube.com/@CiceronianSociety](https://www.youtube.com/@CiceronianSociety)
