Marcus Tullius Cicero, De Officiis [On Duties]

David Brown (Lindenwood University)

Ed. by Sophia Papaioannou, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.1.2: Ancient Roman Writing and Culture (Republic and Empire), -750-476.
Vol. editors: William John Dominik (University of Otago), Giacomo Fedeli (University of Exeter), Thomas Habinek (University of Southern California), Emily Kneebone (University of Nottingham), Elodie Paillard (University of Sydney), Sophia Papaioannou (National and Kapodistrian University of Athens), Jula Wildberger (The American University of Paris)

Domains

Political Philosophy

Dates

First circulation or publication -44

Places

Ancient Rome (Republic & Empire) (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Treatise

Resources

I regard the De Officiis as one of the most perfect treatises on morals which the world possesses, whether for the truth of the lessons given, for their universality, or for the beauty and lightness of the language. It is on a subject generally heavy, but is treated with so much art and grace as to make it a delight to have read it, and an important part of education to know it. (Anthony Trollope, Life of Cicero)

Cicero’s De Officiis (usually translated as On Duties or On Moral Obligation) has been praised as “the most influential secular prose work ever written” (Douglas, 149) and as one that “perhaps exercised more influence on the thought and standard of the …

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3332 words

Citation: Brown, David. "De Officiis". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 03 July 2013 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=16055, accessed 22 November 2024.]

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