Friendship is the only thing in the world concerning the usefulness of which all mankind are agreed.
Marcus Tullius CiceroRead
Since an intelligence common to us all makes things known to us and formulates them in our minds, honorable actions are ascribed by us to virtue, and dishonorable actions to vice; and only a madman would conclude that these judgments are matters of opinion, and not fixed by nature.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Cicero argues that our moral judgments are not subjective opinions but are rooted in nature's laws.
In this quote, Cicero emphasizes that our understanding of right and wrong is shaped by a common intelligence shared among humanity. He asserts that moral distinctions—who we deem virtuous or vicious—are not mere subjective opinions but are grounded in the inherent nature of reality, suggesting that rejecting these shared moral truths is a sign of madness.
Themes
MoralityVirtueNatureJudgmentIntelligence
In practice
Example use cases
In a debate about ethics, one might reference this quote to underline the objective nature of morality.
More from Marcus Tullius Cicero
All quotes →Those wars are unjust which are undertaken without provocation. For only a war waged for revenge or defence can actually be just.
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Orators are most vehement when their cause is weak.
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Nothing contributes to the entertainment of the reader more, than the change of times and the vicissitudes of fortune.
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No one has the right to be sorry for himself for a misfortune that strikes everyone.
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Advice in old age is foolish; for what can be more absurd than to increase our provisions for the road the nearer we approach to our journey's end.
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