Summary Of Cicero's Essay 'On Duties'
Cicero Reflection
Cicero’s essay, “On Duties”, tells his son what needs to be improved about some peoples’ ideas and gives examples from people in the past. He states how he feels and one of the main themes very concisely, “Most people think that the achievements of war are more important than those of peace; but this opinion needs to be corrected.” He supports his point that peace is more important and the work done to get peace will last longer than the outcome of war with the accomplishments of Solon and Themistocles. Solon created the Areopagus and laws that stayed in place for a long time and Themistocles does not have anything memorable about him.
Cicero talks about how one should conduct themselves in times of peril and how to be
moral. He thinks people should only punish the guilty to spare the innocent. I agree with his statement because a lot of time whole groups of people are attacked or mistreated, when this should only happen to the ones who committed the action. Also I think when Cicero states, “… never be guilty of seeming cowardly and craven in our avoidance of danger; but we must also beware of exposing ourselves to danger needlessly,” is a very important comment. One does not want to seem as though they are too scared to face a challenge but also should not go looking for danger or putting oneself in a harmful position. I believe a modern equivalent happens when one places themselves in dramatic or stressful situation. A lot of younger people do this many to have a more exciting life but it is damaging to their health. Additionally, Cicero believes to be moral one has to think about the actions they perform. It is difficult to think about whether what you are doing is ethical or not; therefore, I think his statement is ideal but not very possible. Lastly, Cicero says the government most care for all people for the polis to function well and this idea is still applicable today but can be spread past the government; all people should look out for each other. I think Cicero’s ideas are still relevant but need to be applied to modern society to be easier to understand follow.
Cicero’s essay, “On Duties”, tells his son what needs to be improved about some peoples’ ideas and gives examples from people in the past. He states how he feels and one of the main themes very concisely, “Most people think that the achievements of war are more important than those of peace; but this opinion needs to be corrected.” He supports his point that peace is more important and the work done to get peace will last longer than the outcome of war with the accomplishments of Solon and Themistocles. Solon created the Areopagus and laws that stayed in place for a long time and Themistocles does not have anything memorable about him.
Cicero talks about how one should conduct themselves in times of peril and how to be
moral. He thinks people should only punish the guilty to spare the innocent. I agree with his statement because a lot of time whole groups of people are attacked or mistreated, when this should only happen to the ones who committed the action. Also I think when Cicero states, “… never be guilty of seeming cowardly and craven in our avoidance of danger; but we must also beware of exposing ourselves to danger needlessly,” is a very important comment. One does not want to seem as though they are too scared to face a challenge but also should not go looking for danger or putting oneself in a harmful position. I believe a modern equivalent happens when one places themselves in dramatic or stressful situation. A lot of younger people do this many to have a more exciting life but it is damaging to their health. Additionally, Cicero believes to be moral one has to think about the actions they perform. It is difficult to think about whether what you are doing is ethical or not; therefore, I think his statement is ideal but not very possible. Lastly, Cicero says the government most care for all people for the polis to function well and this idea is still applicable today but can be spread past the government; all people should look out for each other. I think Cicero’s ideas are still relevant but need to be applied to modern society to be easier to understand follow.