De Officiis

No part of life, Cicero tells his son Marcus, is free of duty—not public affairs or the home, business or even what we do alone.

In 44 BC, as Marcus studies philosophy in Athens, Cicero turns from abstract theories to the choices that shape an ordinary life. Drawing chiefly on Stoic teaching, he asks what it means to act rightly in every relation and circumstance—and challenges any account of the good that leaves virtue behind. Friendship, justice, generosity and courage cannot survive if private advantage is the only measure. Yet when a choice seems to pit usefulness against honor, how can Marcus—and any reader—tell what duty requires?

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