 Title page ofDe Officiis. Christopher Froschouer – 1560. | |
| Author | Cicero |
|---|---|
| Language | Classical Latin |
| Subject | Ethics |
| Genre | Philosophy |
Publication date | 44 BC |
| Publication place | Roman Republic |
Original text | De Officiis at LatinWikisource |
De Officiis (On Duties,On Obligations, orOn Moral Responsibilities) is a 44 BC treatise byMarcus Tullius Cicero divided into three books, in which Cicero expounds his conception of the best way to live, behave, and observemoral obligations. The posthumously published work discusses what is honorable (Book I), what is to one's advantage (Book II), and what to do when the honorable and private gain apparently conflict (Book III). For the first two books Cicero was dependent on the Stoic philosopherPanaetius, but wrote more independently for the third book.
De Officiis was written in October–November 44 BC, in under four weeks.[1] 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 theRoman Republic. Despite his efforts, the republican system failed to revive even upon theassassination of Caesar, and Cicero was himself assassinated shortly thereafter.
De Officiis is written in the form of a letter to his sonCicero Minor, who studied philosophy inAthens. Judging from its form, it is nonetheless likely that Cicero wrote with a broader audience in mind. The essay was published posthumously.
Although Cicero was influenced by theAcademic,Peripatetic, andStoic schools of Greek philosophy, this work shows the influence of the Stoic philosopherPanaetius.[2][3] Panaetius was a Greek philosopher who had resided in Rome around eighty years previously.[4] He wrote a bookOn Duties (Greek:Περὶ Καθήκοντος) in which he divided his subject into three parts but had left the work unfinished at the third stage.[4] Although Cicero draws from many other sources, for his first two books he follows the steps of Panaetius fairly closely.[5] The third book is more independent,[5] and Cicero disclaims having been indebted to any preceding writers on the subject.[6]Michael Grant tells us that "Cicero himself seems to have regarded this treatise as his spiritual testament and masterpiece."[7]
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 onanecdotes, 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 thesatires ofJuvenal, Cicero'sDe Officiis refers frequently to current events of his time.
De Officiis discusses what ishonorable (Book I), what is expedient or to one's advantage (Book II), and what to do when the honorable and expedient conflict (Book III). Cicero says they are the same and that they only appear to be in conflict. In Book III, Cicero expresses his own ideas.[8]
The first book treats of what is honorable in itself.[6] He shows in what true manner our duties are founded in honor and virtue.[6] The four constituent parts of virtue are truth, justice, fortitude, and decorum, and our duties are founded in the right perception of these.[6]
The second book enlarges on those duties which relate to private advantage and the improvement of life.[6] The book focuses on political advancement, and the means employed for the attainment of wealth and power.[6] The honorable means of gaining popularity include generosity, courtesy, and eloquence.[6]
The third book discusses the choice to be made when there is an apparent conflict between virtue and expediency.[6] True virtue can never be put in competition with private advantage.[6] Thus nothing should be accounted useful or profitable if not strictly virtuous, and there ought to be no separation of the principles of virtue and expediency.[6]
Cicero proposes some rules for cases of doubt, where seeming utility comes into competition with virtue.[6] He examines in what situations one may seek private gain with honour.[6] He takes his examples from Roman history, such as the case ofMarcus Atilius Regulus who was released by theCarthaginians to negotiate a peace, advised theRoman Senate to reject the proposals, and fulfilled his oath by returning toCarthage.[6]
De Officiis has been characterized as an attempt to define ideals of public behavior.[9] It criticizes the recently overthrown dictatorJulius Caesar in several places, and his dictatorship as a whole. Cicero claims that the absence of political rights corrupts moral virtues. Cicero also speaks of anatural law that is said to govern both humans[10] andgods alike.[11]
The legacy ofDe Officiis is profound. Although not aChristian work, in 390St. Ambrose declared it legitimate for theChurch to use (along with everything else Cicero, and the equally popular Roman philosopherSeneca, had written). It became amoral authority during theMiddle Ages. Of theChurch Fathers,St. Augustine,St. Jerome and even more soSt. Thomas Aquinas, are known to have been familiar with it.[12] Illustrating its importance, some 700 handwritten copies remain extant in libraries around the world dating back to before theinvention of the printing press. Though this does not surpass the Latin grammarianPriscian's 900 extant handwritten copies, it placesDe Officiis far above many classical works. Following the invention of theprinting press,De Officiis was the third book to be printed—third only to theGutenberg Bible andDonatus'sArs Minor, which was the first printed book.[a]
Petrarch, the father of humanism and a leader in the revival of Classical learning, championed Cicero. Several of his works build upon the precepts ofDe Officiis.[14] PrincePeter, Duke of Coimbra, member of the Order of the Garter, translated the treatise to Portuguese in 1437, signal of the wide spread of the work in medieval courts.[15] The Catholic humanistErasmus published his own edition in Paris in 1501. His enthusiasm for this moral treatise is expressed in many works.[14][16] The German humanistPhilip Melanchthon establishedDe Officiis in Lutheran humanist schools.[14]
T. W. Baldwin said that "in Shakespeare's dayDe Officiis was the pinnacle of moral philosophy".[17]Sir Thomas Elyot, in his popularGovernour (1531), lists three essential texts for bringing up young gentlemen:Plato's works,Aristotle'sEthics, andDe Officiis.[18]
In the 17th century it was a standard text at English schools (Westminster and Eton) and universities (Cambridge and Oxford). It was extensively discussed byHugo Grotius andSamuel von Pufendorf.[19] Grotius drew heavily onDe Officiis in his major work,On the Law of War and Peace.[14] It influencedRobert Sanderson andJohn Locke.[19]
In the 18th century,Voltaire said ofDe Officiis "No one will ever write anything more wise".[20]Frederick the Great thought so highly of the book that he asked the scholarChristian 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.
In 1885, the city ofPerugia was shaken by the theft of anilluminated manuscript ofDe Officiis from the city'sLibrary Augusta. The chief librarianAdamo Rossi, a well-known scholar, was originally suspected but exonerated after a lengthy administrative and judicial investigation. The culprit in the theft was never found. Suspicion fell on a janitor who a few years later became well-to-do enough to build for himself a fine house. The former janitor's house was nicknamed "Villa Cicero" by residents of Perugia.
The 2002George Mason Memorial in Washington, D.C., includesDe Officiis as an element of the statue of a seated Mason.
De Officiis 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.
Media related toDe Officiis at Wikimedia Commons
LatinWikisource has original text related to this article:De Officiis
De Officiis, English translation by Walter Miller public domain audiobook atLibriVox| Treatises |
|  | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Orations |
| |||||
| Letters | ||||||
| Portrayals |
| |||||
| Related |
| |||||
