[Essay Today] Cicero's 'De Officiis'

Marcus Tullius Cicero was born today in 106 BC in Arpino, Lazio. Famous as a Roman politician, lawyer, and philosopher, he excelled in oratory and speech. His peak as a politician came in 63 BC when, serving as consul, he uncovered the conspiracy of Lucius Sergius Catilina and saved Rome from crisis. His impeachment speech against Catilina, which ignited the audience's anger, is considered a masterpiece. The speech begins with the words, "Catilina, how long do you intend to test our patience?"

The Italian painter Cesare Macari depicted this event in 1889 in his work 'Cicero Impeaching Catilina.' The setting is the Senate. Catilina sits alone on the right side of the canvas. Cicero impeaches Catilina through four speeches. During his speeches, all the senators who had been sitting near Catilina moved away. Of course, the painting does not align with historical facts. The actual impeachment took place not in the Senate but at the Temple of Jupiter. Macari portrayed Cicero as an old man and Catilina as a young man, but in reality, the two were of similar age.

Cicero claimed that Catilina had plotted to assassinate him, the consul, and overthrow the Roman Republic, demanding the 'final recommendation of the Senate.' With the Senate's approval, Cicero swiftly sentenced and executed those accused of participating in the rebellion. Catilina also lost his life to the suppression forces. Although Cicero was revered as the 'Father of the Nation,' he paid the price for executing suspects without trial. He was criticized with the principle that 'every Roman citizen has the right to a fair trial' and was exiled from Rome in 58 BC.

Cicero was well-versed in Greek rhetoric and advocacy. He is called a master of rhetoric and the creator and perfecter of classical Latin prose. His style greatly influenced Latin, Italian, as well as English and French. Among his works are fifty-eight speeches including the 'Catilina Impeachment,' several philosophical treatises including 'De Re Publica' and 'De Officiis,' and letters exchanged with figures such as Julius Caesar. Among these, 'De Officiis' is a classic that influenced Renaissance humanists, modern thinkers like John Locke, and even Immanuel Kant's ethics.

This book is a collection of letters expressing a father's hope that his son, studying in Athens, would grow up rightly. The time was 44 BC, just after Caesar's assassination. Cicero teaches his son that a moral life is ultimately a beneficial life. In his view, humans have duties to fulfill: ▲personal duties ▲duties as members of the community ▲duties as parts of nature. A true life is one that faithfully carries out these duties and pursues 'moral good.' Cicero emphasizes that among these duties, 'duty to the community' takes precedence.

Moral good is realized in a life that seeks truth, practices justice, maintains courage, and exercises moderation. For Cicero, "If something is not morally good, it is neither beneficial nor an object of duty." Therefore, the propositions 'something can be morally good but not beneficial' or 'something can be beneficial but not morally good' do not hold. Hence, 'beneficial = moral good,' and virtue is characterized by winning people's hearts and holding them advantageously for oneself.

Heo Jin-seok, poet and professor at Korea National Sport University

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.