Cicero: On Duties (De Officiis)

Use this activity to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity.

“Debate like a Roman”

In this activity, students will use collaborative learning and critical thinking to debate Cicero’s definition of duty and justice.

Though he produced a number of important philosophical texts, Cicero was probably best known for his talent as a prose stylist and debater. In this activity, students will take Cicero on in a debate. Students will be divided into two groups. One group will argue in support of Cicero’s thesis that it is impossible to be dutiful without being just, while the other group will try to refute this argument.

As you formulate your arguments, draw on the text and pay careful attention to rhetorical techniques, such as diction, repetition, and figurative language. After the debate, students should evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of Cicero’s arguments in a class-wide discussion.

Teaching Suggestion: To ensure students treat each other with respect as they conduct the debate, you might set ground rules (such as time limits for each side to make their argument or rebuttal) before beginning. When awarding points, consider emphasizing the strength of the arguments as well as presentation and style.

Differentiation Suggestion: For students who would benefit from assistance with abstract thinking, it might be useful to set frames or context for students to prepare their arguments. For example, students might benefit from thinking about duty and justice on a more concrete level: What makes somebody just or unjust? What are examples of duties? Consider directing students to the concrete examples of justice and duty that Cicero highlights throughout the text. Do they agree with Cicero’s assessments of these examples? Graphic organizers, such as a Venn diagram or T-chart, might also be useful for a more visual approach.

Use these essay questions as writing and critical thinking exercises for all levels of writers, and to build their literary analysis skills by requiring textual references throughout the essay.

Differentiation Suggestion: For English learners or struggling writers, strategies that work well include graphic organizers, sentence frames or starters, group work, or oral responses.

Scaffolded Essay Questions

Student Prompt: Write a short (1-3 paragraph) response using one of the bulleted outlines below. Cite details from the text over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. For Cicero, duty emerges from what is honorable, and what is honorable is itself constituted of the virtues.

• What are the four virtues that Cicero believes make up honorableness? (topic sentence)
• Describe each of Cicero’s four virtues and explain their relationship to duty. As you analyze examples from the text, consider the persuasive techniques Cicero utilizes and their effects.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, summarize and evaluate how Cicero presents duty, virtue, and honorableness.

2. Cicero often speaks of the importance of nature in shaping human life.

• What role does nature play in determining the duties of human beings? (topic sentence)
• Analyze 2-3 passages in which Cicero connects nature to his ideas about duty.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, explain how Cicero defines nature and evaluate its importance in the text.

3. In Book II, Cicero discusses usefulness in relation to the devotion of fellow humans.

• How does Cicero view the relationship between usefulness and devotion? (topic sentence)
• Analyze 2-3 sections in the text where Cicero discusses usefulness. Then consider his definition of usefulness and explain his reasoning.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, consider how Cicero’s definition of usefulness relates to the political situation at the time he wrote his text.

Full Essay Assignments

Student Prompt: Write a structured and well-developed essay. Include a thesis statement, at least three main points supported by text details, and a conclusion.

1. In Book I, Cicero introduces the idea that human existence can be divided into four roles: The first refers to the universal role of humans “insofar as we all partake of that reason and excellence in which we surpass the beasts” (Book I, Page 65); the second refers to the individual role of humans as discrete persons; the third refers to that “which chance or circumstance imposes” (Book II, Page 69); and the fourth refers to that “which we assume for ourselves according to our judgment” (Book II, Page 65). Analyze The Four Roles of Humans and their place in On Duties. How do these roles relate to duty and moral action?

2. Reflecting on the assassination of Julius Caesar, Cicero writes: “What greater crime can there be than to murder, not only another human being, but also one with whom we are intimate? And yet does someone commit a crime if he kills a tyrant, however much an intimate?” (Book II, Page 131). How is Cicero’s perspective on The Indictment of Julius Caesar and his assassination reflective of his ideas about duty, honorableness, and usefulness?

3. Cicero addresses On Duties to his son Marcus, who is studying in Athens with the Peripatetic philosopher Cratippus. Cicero himself had studied philosophy in his youth, and he refers to various philosophers and philosophical schools (including the Peripatetics, the Stoics, and the Platonists) throughout the text. With which philosophical school does Cicero most closely identify and align himself in On Duties? Cite at least three passages from the text that support your claim and explain your ideas carefully.

Multiple Choice and Long Answer Questions create ideal opportunities for whole-text review, exams, or summative assessments.

Multiple Choice

1. Which of the following is NOT one of the four kinds of virtue identified by Cicero?

A) Recognition of truth (wisdom)

B) Preservation of communal connections (justice)

C) Observation of social mores (moderation)

D) Relentless pursuit of one’s goals (force)

2. Why does Cicero claim that the search for truth is peculiar to human beings?

A) Because only humans have reason

B) Because god only shows the truth to humans

C) Because humans become gods after they die

D) Because all other living beings already know the truth

3. What kind of honorable actions are the most noble, according to Cicero?

A) Those that are driven by greatness of spirit

B) Those that are done for one’s family

C) Those that are done in service of one’s career

D) All the actions of a wise person are equally noble.

4. Which of the following entities should be an individual’s principal duty, according to Cicero?

A) One’s family

B) One’s career

C) The gods

D) One’s fatherland

5. Why does Cicero value reason (strength of spirit) more than courage (bodily strength)?

A) Because only humans have reason, whereas even beasts have courage

B) Because the most honorable actions usually arise from strength of spirit

C) Because a good person does not need bodily strength

D) Because those who have courage are more likely to hurt others unjustly

6. What is the greatest source of disadvantage to humanity, according to Cicero?

A) The gods

B) Beasts

C) Nature

D) Other people

7. Which of the following is the best way to win the devotion of others?

A) Goodwill

B) Rewards

C) Fear

D) War

8. Why does Cicero claim that the current ills of the Romans are just?

A) Because Fortune is always just

B) Because the Romans’ recent conduct has been unjust

C) Because all empires who rise to power through conquest are evil

D) Because they angered the gods

9. Why does Cicero advocate public speaking for young men?

A) To earn them wealth

B) To foster their sense of justice

C) To help them find a wife

D) To teach them how to assert their will

10. What is an example of “prudent largesse” from Book II?

A) Distributing meat in public

B) Buying expensive clothing

C) Giving lavish feasts

D) Paying off a friend’s debts

11. Why does Cicero value eloquence so highly?

A) Because it is an opportunity for kind service and patronage

B) Because it can help a person manipulate others

C) Because it can help a person become wealthy

D) Because it is the only way to seek the truth

12. What was the philosophical school of Panaetius?

A) Stoicism

B) Epicureanism

C) The Peripatetic School

D) The Academic School

13. How does the assassination of a tyrant such as Caesar illustrate the relationship between honorableness and usefulness, according to Cicero?

A) It shows that killing somebody is never honorable or useful.

B) It shows that what is useful is never honorable.

C) It shows that honor often follows what is useful.

D) It shows that what seems useful is always honorable.

14. What cannot exist alongside usefulness, according to Cicero?

A) Honor

B) Disgrace

C) Wisdom

D) Pride

15. What historical event does Cicero cite as an example of doing wrong because of the appearance of utility?

A) The Romans’ burning of Corinth

B) The assassination of Julius Caesar

C) Regulus’s decision to keep his oath to return to his Carthaginian captors

D) The Romans’ destruction of Corinth

Long Answer

Compose a response of 2-3 sentences, incorporating text details to support your response.

1. What is Cicero’s basic definition of duty? How does this relate to his definition of human nature?

2. Why does Cicero claim that duties are the most productive philosophical subject?