Category: Cicero

The 7 Rules of Good Conversation According to Cicero

10/31/2021

It has been far too long since I published a new post in the popular According to Cicero series. Life got complicated and other topics seemed more pressing.

Wait no longer my friends! This month's post focuses on Cicero’s rules for good conversation which are still quite helpful to us in our modern lives. In de Officiis (On Duty), written in 44 B.C. E., Cicero wrote “There are rules for oratory laid down by rhetoricians; there are none for conversation; and yet I do not know why there should not be.” To remedy this situation, Cicero elaborated on 7 rules that he believed should govern good conversation:

2 Comments

Why Cicero Merits Renewed Attention

5/11/2019

2 Comments

Justice and liberty have no better spokesman than Cicero.

Cicero was a Roman Senator whose writings, as Historian Edward Gibbon put it, “breathed the spirit of freedom.” Particularly influential was his idea of natural law, echoed by John Locke and other enlightenment thinkers: Human nature included reason, which could discover justice, which was the basis of law. Voltaire said “He taught us how to think.”

Cicero stayed loyal to the Roman Republic against Julius Caesar. Marc Antony had him murdered for his principles, and his head and hands were nailed to the Senate speaker’s podium as a warning to others, making him a model of resistance against tyranny to America’s revolutionary leaders.

2 Comments

5 Things That You Need To Be Happy According to Cicero

2/20/2018

5 Comments

What do we really need to be happy? According to Roman philosopher and statesman Cicero, not very much.

In a letter Cicero wrote while trying to arrange a visit with his new friend, fellow scholar Marcus Terentius Varro, he states: "If you have a garden in your library, we will want for nothing."[1]

Cicero and Varro were rich. Both owned various estates across Italy. He could have asked for, and expected, all of the luxuries common to his class - silk sheets, scented oils, the finest food and wine. Why did Cicero place such high importance on the garden and the library then? What is truly necessary for us to flourish in life?

5 Comments

How To Be a Badass According to Cicero

7/27/2017

3 Comments

I'm often impressed by the fortitude displayed by some of the philosophers and statesmen of the Classical world. Socrates, Musonius Rufus, Seneca, Cato, and many others faced incredible challenges. The magnitude of the events they experienced – war, imprisonment, exile, the untimely death of loved ones, political assassination and so forth, make most of my problems seem inconsequential.

The Roman statesman Cicero is no exception. Cicero is remembered more for having been a great orator, interpreter of Greek philosophy, and a philosopher in his own right, rather than an as iron-willed sage or near sage like the Stoic Cato the younger. Yet Cicero seems to have been tough enough in the face of hardship. He was exiled, betrayed by his longtime wife, endured the sudden untimely death of his favorite daughter, and was eventually assassinated on account of his support for the Republic and opposition to Caesar and Mark Anthony.

Cicero was named an enemy of the state, yet he enjoyed popular support and was hidden from his persecutors for a time. When they finally caught up with him, he is reported to have said, “There is nothing proper about what you are doing, soldier, but do try to kill me properly.” He bowed to his captors, leaning his head out in a gladiatorial gesture indicating that he wouldn't resist.[1]

That sounds pretty tough to me. Cicero tried to subordinate the intellectual or theoretical exercise of philosophy to a life of virtuous practice.[2] He was an unceasing supporter of the Republic and fearless when faced with his own death. It is on this basis – considering the example Cicero set by his actions – that we might learn something about being mentally strong from his eclectic philosophy. Here are 5 great pieces of advice on fortitude from Cicero's mouth:

3 Comments

Stop Doing This if You Want to Be Happy

2/2/2017

3 Comments

Have you ever felt like you would be so much happier as soon as you fulfilled some desire, only to end up unsatisfied soon afterwards? Why is it that getting something we want doesn't always make us consistently happy over the long term? What are we meant for? Merely the experience of pleasure, or something more profound?

Hedonic adaptation is the observed psychological tendency to revert back to prior levels of happiness soon after experiencing something pleasurable. The psychologists Brickman and Campbell began studying this phenomenon scientifically in the 1970s, calling it the Hedonic Treadmill. Hedonic adaptation accounts for our tendency to overestimate how happy pleasurable experiences will make us, and the fact that we tend to maintain a relatively stable level of happiness regardless of our material circumstances. It also explains our unfortunate human habit of taking what we have for granted.

Even though the Hedonic Treadmill was scientifically observed in recent history, it turns out that Kant possessed a remarkably similar insight into human psychology, simultaneously defining hedonic adaptation and changing the course of one man's life in an impromptu late night meeting in 1789.

3 Comments

5 Signs You Lack Gratitude According to Cicero

1/19/2017

6 Comments

Marcus Tullius Cicero was a Roman philosopher, politician, lawyer, orator, political theorist, and constitutionalist. Cicero tried to lead by the example of his life, and by many accounts he was ethical, moderate, and constantly strove to better himself and gain knowledge. One of his more famous quotations comes from Pro Planico, a legal defense he mounted for a friend, in which he states:

"In truth, O judges, while I wish to be adorned with every virtue, yet there is nothing which I can esteem more highly than the being and appearing grateful. For this one virtue is not only the greatest, but is also the parent of all the other virtues."[1]

What does Cicero mean here when he says that gratitude is the parent of all other virtues? In the past, I have written about how having a grateful attitude can make you happier. Gratitude most certainly is a feeling of happiness or appreciation about benefits which you enjoy. But I doubt that Cicero saw gratitude as "only a stepping stone to personal happiness," to quote psychologist Robert Emmons.

In Pro Planico, Cicero sites the specific virtues arising from the positive feeling of gratitude, such as showing affection for one's parents, reverence, appreciation of friends, acts of kindness, and so forth. Gratitude often inspires us to do good things; this likely is what Cicero meant when he said that gratitude is the parent of all other virtues. Really it is fair to say that gratitude is both a happy feeling, and a behavior common to those of high moral standards. On the other hand, you are probably ungrateful if you do these 5 things:

6 Comments

5 Signs You Lack Maturity According To Cicero

7/22/2016

0 Comments

Marcus Tullius Cicero was a Roman philosopher, politician, lawyer, orator, political theorist, and constitutionalist.

Cicero lead by the example of his life, and by all accounts he was ethical, moderate, and constantly strove to better himself and gain knowledge. Like other Romans, he believed that we all have a duty to society, and he took his personal and civic responsibilities seriously.

Consequently he set a great example of maturity and personal growth, and his advice is worth taking seriously today. I have gathered some of his best quotes into the post below. You can be sure that regardless of your age, you lack maturity if you do these 5 things:

0 Comments

What Is Natural Law and Why Should You Care?

9/18/2014

0 Comments

Natural law theory is a philosophical tradition which dates back to ancient times. You should care about natural law because it is part of our Western cultural heritage, it can make your life easier, and on a personal level, following natural law allows us to become better human beings.

Natural law is a common understanding of human nature and ethics. Humans are part of nature, so we are capable of perceiving and living by natural rules, and applying those rules in a universal way. Universally self-explanatory principles of equality, sovereignty, and dignity should guide our interactions with others.

Natural law based philosophy provides the foundation for natural rights or human rights, which undergird the Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and English and American systems of jurisprudence. Natural Law theories can be found in Greek, Roman, and ancient Buddhist texts. Plato, Aristotle, the Stoics, Cicero, Thomas Aquinas, Bacon, Grotius, Spinoza, Locke, Hobbes, and many others argued for various forms of natural law.

Natural Law philosophy should not be confused with the scientific laws of physics or biology. Human nature in the natural law sense, means that each of us has an innate tendency to behave in ways that are good for ourselves and good for others. We share common values and an understanding of ethics which derives from our nature. This is one of the things that makes us human.

We also have the free will to choose how to behave. Corruption represents a turning away from our true nature as humans. Things can go haywire if our understanding and feelings are corrupted by our upbringing, culture, and negative socialization.

The highest ideal is to unite your conduct with the good in nature; the interconnectedness and preciousness of life, and respect for yourself and others.

0 Comments

The 7 Rules of Good Conversation According to Cicero

Why Cicero Merits Renewed Attention

5 Things That You Need To Be Happy According to Cicero

How To Be a Badass According to Cicero

Stop Doing This if You Want to Be Happy

5 Signs You Lack Gratitude According to Cicero

5 Signs You Lack Maturity According To Cicero

What Is Natural Law and Why Should You Care?

Growing in Goodness

About Me:

Most Popular Blog Posts:

Download My Stoic Printables For Tough Days:

Watch Common Sense Ethics On YouTube:

Support CSE:

Topics:

Archives:

Book of the Month:

Personal Growth Resources:

Understanding and Applying Stoic Ethics In Modern Life:

Follow Common Sense Ethics on Pinterest:

Join the Stoic Parents Facebook Group:

Growing in Goodness

Don't Miss A Post!

Thank You For Subscribing to Common Sense Ethics!

About Me:

Most Popular Blog Posts:

Download My Stoic Printables For Tough Days:

Watch Common Sense Ethics On YouTube:

Support CSE:

Topics:

Archives:

​Personal Growth Resources:

Understanding and Applying Stoic Ethics In Modern Life:

​Follow Common Sense Ethics on Pinterest:

​Join the Stoic Parents Facebook Group:

Personal Growth Resources:

Follow Common Sense Ethics on Pinterest:

Join the Stoic Parents Facebook Group: