47 pages • 1 hour read
Marcus Tullius CiceroCicero: On Duties (De Officiis)
Nonfiction | Essay Collection | Adult | BCEA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
During Reading
Reading Questions & Paired Texts
Reading Check and Short Answer Questions on key points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.
BOOK I
Reading Check
1. To whom does Cicero address the text?
2. What is the fundamental difference between human beings and beasts?
3. What should be the primary objective of going to war?
4. What are the two ways through which injustice can be done?
5. What are the two parts of spirit?
Short Answer
Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.
1. What is the difference between a “correct” action and a “common” action? Which type of action does Cicero chiefly address in the text?
2. How does Cicero define justice?
3. Why does Cicero say people usually harm others unjustly?
4. What is the difference between propriety and honorability?
5. Why are political achievements judged as the ones that show the most greatness of spirit?
Paired Resources
“How the Ancient Roman Government Worked”
- This 10-minute video by the World History Encyclopedia explains how the Roman government worked at different periods in history.
- This connects to the themes of Honorableness Versus Utility and The Four Roles of Humans.
- How does Cicero present the relationship between the citizen and the state? How are Cicero’s views a product of the Roman political system?
“The First Oration of M. T. Cicero against Lucius Catilina”
- Cicero’s first of four orations attacks the treasonous actions of Catiline and was delivered before the senate in 63 BCE.
- This connects to the theme of Honorableness Versus Utility.
- How does Cicero represent his own service to the Roman Republic in his first oration against Catiline? How does his rhetoric reflect the philosophical ideas about public service that he lays out in On Duties?
BOOK II
Reading Check
1. What is the translation and basic definition of philosophy?
2. Why is it dangerous for somebody to rule by fear?
3. How does one secure goodwill?
4. Why does Cicero say that it is good for young men to associate with “illustrious and wise men” in Book II?
5. What is the best way to show beneficence and liberality to those in need?
Short Answer
Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.
1. How does Cicero justify his decision to write a philosophical text rather than participate in public life?
2. How does Cicero reconcile his claim that nothing can be securely grasped with his decision to write on philosophical subjects?
3. How does Cicero define utility? How does this differ from other authorities’ definitions?
4. Why is it so important to have the appearance of being just, in addition to actually being just?
5. Why does Cicero claim that it is better to help a poor person than a wealthy person or a person seeking advancement?
Paired Resources
Cicero (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)
- This entry provides a thorough overview of Cicero’s philosophical writings.
- This connects to the themes of Honorableness Versus Utility and The Four Roles of Humans.
- How does On Duties connect to Cicero’s other philosophical works?
First Triumvirate (World History Encyclopedia)
- This article introduces the First Triumvirate of Ancient Rome and includes relevant images as well as video links.
- This connects to the theme of Indictment of Caesar.
- How do the First Triumvirate and Julius Caesar cast a pall over Cicero’s On Duties?
BOOK III
Reading Check
1. Which hero of the Roman Republic does Cicero compare himself to at the beginning of Book III?
2. What point does the story of Gyges illustrate?
3. What is a good rule of thumb to determine if one’s actions are honorable and useful?
4. When should a promise not be kept?
5. How do all philosophers view god, according to Cicero?
6. What is Cicero’s main objection to Epicureanism?
Short Answer
Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.
1. How do the Stoics view the relationship between honorableness and usefulness? How does this view differ from the Peripatetics’ view?
2. Why is it contrary to nature to increase one’s own advantage by harming another?
3. Why does Cicero say that behaving cruelly is never useful?
4. Does Cicero believe it is useful to be king? Why or why not?
Recommended Next Reads
On the Commonwealth and On the Laws by Marcus Tullius Cicero
- This philosophical dialogue from Cambridge University Press discusses the virtues of the Roman Republic.
- Shared themes include Honorableness Versus Utility.
- Shared topics include Roman public life and the relationship between philosophy and politics.
On Benefits by Lucius Annaeus Seneca
- This is the younger Seneca’s longest text on a specific ethical subject concerning the giving of benefits to one’s friends, dependents, and community.
- Shared themes include Honorableness Versus Utility and The Four Roles of Humans.
- Shared topics include Roman customs and ethical philosophy.
On the Shortness of Life by Lucius Annaeus Seneca
- Younger Seneca’s letter, directed to Paulinus, includes his thoughts on Stoic moral philosophy.
- Shared themes include Honorableness Versus Utility and The Four Roles of Humans.
- Shared topics include Roman customs and ethical philosophy.
- On the Shortness of Life on SuperSummary
Reading Questions Answer Key
BOOK I
Reading Check
1. His son Marcus (Book I)
2. Human beings have reason, while beasts do not. (Book I)
3. To seek peace (Book I)
4. Force or deceit (Book I)
5. Impulse and reason (Book I)
Short Answer
1. An “entirely” or “correct” action is defined as what is right, while an “ordinarily” or “common” action is based on a rational decision as to whether the action will be honorable or useful. Cicero chiefly addresses “common” actions in the text. (Book I)
2. According to Cicero, justice means avoiding doing harm to others unless provoked, using communal property for the common good, and using private property for one’s personal interests. (Book I)
3. Cicero says people usually harm others because they fear for their own safety or want to acquire things they desire (such as land or power). (Book I)
4. Propriety is defined by nature and is based on the capacity of each individual human or beast, while honorability is defined by acting in accordance with propriety and the four virtues. Propriety and honorability are thus inextricably linked. (Book I)
5. Cicero claims that political achievements show the most greatness of spirit because they do the most for the common good and reach the largest number of people. (Book I)
BOOK II
Reading Check
1. The love or pursuit of wisdom (Book II)
2. Because fear breeds hatred of the ruler and puts them in constant danger of being overthrown (Book II)
3. By providing or being willing to provide kind services (Book II)
4. To learn from them and to seem like them by association (Book II)
5. Acts of kindness (Book II)
Short Answer
1. Since the Roman Republic to which Cicero had devoted his career no longer exists, Cicero is no longer able to participate in public life. Rather than being idle, he chooses to pursue philosophy, which is also important because its goal is wisdom and knowledge. (Book II)
2. Cicero explains that while nothing can be securely grasped, some ideas are more persuasive than others, and one may therefore accept persuasive ideas while rejecting those that are not persuasive. (Book II)
3. For Cicero, things that have utility are associated with the private good and protect human life. Cicero objects to authorities who claim that something can have utility without being honorable, or vice versa. (Book II)
4. One must have the appearance of being just (in addition to being just) because if one is not perceived in this way, then it is very difficult for them to secure the assistance they need from other people to advance in life. (Book II)
5. Cicero argues that not all humans are worthy of the same largesse, and that a poor person is more deserving of help than somebody who is wealthy or seeking to advance their career because the poor person has more need of such help and because wealth and fortune on their own cannot make somebody good. (Book II)
BOOK III
Reading Check
1. Scipio Africanus (Book III)
2. We should not behave dishonorably or unjustly even in concealment. (Book III)
3. To consider whether the actions in question serve the state (Book III)
4. When its utility changes or when fulfilling it becomes dishonorable (Book III)
5. As a being that cannot be angry or do harm (Book III)
6. Cicero objects to the Epicurean argument that pleasure is the most important aspect of human life. (Book III)
Short Answer
1. According to the Stoics, there is nothing that is honorable that is not useful, and vice versa. According to the Peripatetics, there are sometimes conflicts between what is honorable and what is useful, and honorableness is more important than usefulness. (Book III)
2. Cicero writes that one must not advance themselves by hurting others because doing so destroys human fellowship. (Book III)
3. According to Cicero, behaving cruelly cannot be truly useful (even if it seems useful) because cruelty is contrary to human nature. (Book III)
4. According to Cicero, it only seems useful to be king because kings usually live lives of fear, violence, and treachery. Since kings behave dishonorably, Cicero concludes that they cannot be useful. (Book III)
