Cicero, De officiis

What is ethically responsible behaviour? In his De officiis, Cicero summarises the four cardinal virtues and the difference between utile and honestum. Although formally designed as a didactic letter, Cicero's work has more the characteristics of a philosophical treatise. Based on Stoic philosophy, Cicero discusses the four cardinal virtues and the relationship between utile and honestum and concludes by giving examples from everyday life of how dutiful and honourable actions can be reconciled. This text edition offers the most important passages from Cicero's work with labelling of the different levels of difficulty and learning aids adapted to them; particularly demanding passages are presented in two languages to take different learning levels into account. Learning vocabulary for each text, an index of stylistic devices and a list of proper names at the end complete the text edition.