“ Now, the men we live with are not perfect and ideally wise, but men who do very well, if there be found in them but the semblance of virtue. ”
Marcus Tullius Cicero, On Duties (44 BC). copy citation
| Author | Marcus Tullius Cicero |
|---|---|
| Source | On Duties |
| Topic | virtue living |
| Date | 44 BC |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | Translated by Walter Miller |
| Weblink | http://www.constitution.org/rom/de_officiis.htm |
Context
“It is to be desired that all these considerations should be combined in the same person; if they are not, then the more numerous and the more important considerations must have the greater weight.
{46} XV.
Now, the men we live with are not perfect and ideally wise, but men who do very well, if there be found in them but the semblance of virtue. I therefore think that this is to be taken for granted that no one should be entirely neglected who shows any trace of virtue; but the more a man is endowed with these finer virtues — temperance, self-control, and that very justice about which so much has already been said — the more he deserves to be favoured.”
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