Reviews and Comments

This book is a must-read for understanding how the Stoic cardinal virtues (prudence, justice, courage, temperance) tie up to our duties as human beings in relation to our family, friends, colleagues, countrymen and the rest of humanity. It goes more in-depth than any other book from the same era into the practical benefits of the virtues, as well as how justice is related to social duties, benefits, and moral righteousness. This is also the only source we have of Panaetius' Four Personae Theory, which is an essential formulation in Stoic teaching.

I'm not too well-versed with the history and prominent figures of the Roman Empire so some of the examples and stories on people that apply these virtues to varying degree got lost on me. However, in addition to the excellent introduction at the beginning, the editors have done a stellar job at supplying footnotes (nearly every page has them!) in order to make the reader understand the political context and other peculiarities of Cicero's time.

One might not always agree with him, but Cicero did do his homework and walk the walk in regards to his philosophy (as much as we may know from the historical accounts of him). The concepts he introduces in this book are important and have been incredibly influential for modern political thinkers, and rightfully so.