"Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 BCE), one of Rome's greatest orators and philosophers, placed the concept of virtus or virtue at the heart of his moral and political philosophy. For Cicero, virtus was the quintessential Roman ideal, encompassing courage, moral integrity, and civic responsibility. Understanding Cicero's conception of virtus is essential for grasping how Roman thinkers fused traditional Roman values with philosophical reasoning to shape personal conduct and political action."
"Cicero's books were an attempt to provide a necessary moral anchor in an age of tyranny, especially De Officiis ( On Duties, 44 BCE). Writing it during the tumultuous final years of the Roman Republic, when the state was facing profound political and ethical crises (Julius Caesar was assassinated in 44 BCE), Cicero sought to reaffirm the foundations of public life by redefining what it meant to be a good Roman citizen and leader."
Cicero positioned virtus as the central Roman moral ideal, uniting courage, moral integrity, and civic responsibility as requirements for personal conduct and public life. De Officiis, composed during the Republic's final crises, aims to provide a moral anchor by redefining what constitutes a good Roman citizen and leader. Cicero integrates Socratic and Platonic philosophical principles into Roman civic ideals to create a practical, rational ethical framework. Virtus functions as an active duty for political leadership, combining philosophical justification with traditional Roman values, and serves as an essential ethical foundation intended to preserve the res publica amid political decay.
Read at Philosophynow
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]