''De finibus bonorum et malorum'' ("On the ends of good and evil") is a
Socratic dialogue
Socratic dialogue ( grc, Σωκρατικὸς λόγος) is a genre of literary prose developed in Greece at the turn of the fourth century BC. The earliest ones are preserved in the works of Plato and Xenophon and all involve Socrates as the p ...
by the
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
orator, politician, and
Academic Skeptic philosopher
Marcus Tullius Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the estab ...
. It consists of three dialogues, over five books, in which Cicero discusses the philosophical views of
Epicureanism
Epicureanism is a system of philosophy founded around 307 BC based upon the teachings of the ancient Greek philosopher Epicurus. Epicureanism was originally a challenge to Platonism. Later its main opponent became Stoicism.
Few writings by Epi ...
,
Stoicism
Stoicism is a school of Hellenistic philosophy founded by Zeno of Citium in Athens in the early 3rd century Common Era, BCE. It is a philosophy of personal virtue ethics informed by its system of logic and its views on the natural world, asser ...
, and the
Platonism of
Antiochus of Ascalon which supports a hybrid system of Platonism, Aristotelianism (which he views as a single "
Old Academy
The Academy (Ancient Greek: Ἀκαδημία) was founded by Plato in c. 387 BC in Athens. Aristotle studied there for twenty years (367–347 BC) before founding his own school, the Lyceum. The Academy persisted throughout the Hellenistic p ...
" tradition), and Stoicism. The treatise is structured so that each philosophical system is described in its own book, and then disputed in the following book (with exception of Antiochus' view which is both explained and disputed in book five). The book was developed in the summer of the year 45 BC, and was written over the course of about one and a half months. Together with the ''
Tusculanae Quaestiones'' written shortly afterwards and the ''
Academica'', ''De finibus bonorum et malorum'' is one of the most extensive philosophical works of Cicero.
Cicero dedicated the book to
Marcus Junius Brutus
Marcus Junius Brutus (; ; 85 BC – 23 October 42 BC), often referred to simply as Brutus, was a Roman politician, orator, and the most famous of the assassins of Julius Caesar. After being adopted by a relative, he used the name Quintus Serv ...
.
Contents
First and second books (''Liber Primus'' and ''Liber Secundus'')
The first two books are a dialogue set at Cicero's country home in
Cumae between himself and a young
Epicurean named
Lucius Torquatus, while another young Roman named Gaius Triarius listens on. In the first book, the interlocutors present the Epicurean theory of
hedonism
Hedonism refers to a family of theories, all of which have in common that pleasure plays a central role in them. ''Psychological'' or ''motivational hedonism'' claims that human behavior is determined by desires to increase pleasure and to decr ...
, which holds that pleasure in the form of ''
aponia
"Aponia" ( grc, ἀπονία) means the absence of pain, and was regarded by the Epicureans to be the height of bodily pleasure.
As with the other Hellenistic schools of philosophy, the Epicureans believed that the goal of human life is happine ...
'' (absence of pain) is regarded as the highest good. In the second book, Cicero criticizes this view, attacking the Epicurean definition of pleasure and arguing that it is inconsistent to hold pleasure as the absence of pain as the final good, since these are not one single good, but rather two distinct goods.
Third and fourth books (''Liber Tertius'' and ''Liber Quartus'')
In the next two books
Stoic ethics are discussed. In the third book Cicero's interlocutor,
Marcus Porcius Cato Marcus Porcius Cato can refer to:
*Cato the Elder (consul 195 BC)
*Cato the Younger (praetor 54 BC)
*Marcus Porcius Cato (consul 118 BC)
* Marcus Porcius Cato (consul 36)
*Marcus Porcius Cato (father of Cato the Younger)
*Marcus Porcius C ...
, presents Stoic doctrine. Here Cicero introduces the technical terms used by the Stoics into
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
. The highest and only good of the Stoics is
virtue
Virtue ( la, virtus) is moral excellence. A virtue is a trait or quality that is deemed to be morally good and thus is valued as a foundation of principle and good moral being. In other words, it is a behavior that shows high moral standard ...
(moral good). In the fourth book, Cicero casts doubt on this
dogma
Dogma is a belief or set of beliefs that is accepted by the members of a group without being questioned or doubted. It may be in the form of an official system of principles or doctrines of a religion, such as Roman Catholicism, Judaism, Islam ...
, arguing a supposed natural state (the "cradle argument"), as well as issues regarding the exclusion of other goods entailed by Stoic doctrine.
Fifth book (''Liber Quintus'')
In the last book Cicero presents in the form of a dialogue between himself and several friends the theory of
eudaimonia
Eudaimonia (Greek: εὐδαιμονία ; sometimes anglicized as eudaemonia or eudemonia, ) is a Greek word literally translating to the state or condition of 'good spirit', and which is commonly translated as 'happiness' or 'welfare'.
In wor ...
taught by
Antiochus of Ascalon, which treats
Aristotelianism as a subgroup of
Platonism. This theory includes both virtue and external goods as the highest good. At the end of the book, Cicero criticized logical inconsistencies of this teaching, but more briefly and only addressing details, not broader principles. Cicero then declares that he follows this school of thought, albeit not without reservations, while respecting the valuable aspects of the teachings presented in the previous books.
Legacy
In
graphic design
Graphic design is a profession, academic discipline and applied art whose activity consists in projecting visual communications intended to transmit specific messages to social groups, with specific objectives. Graphic design is an interdiscipli ...
,
Lorem ipsum, a commonly used
placeholder text, is based on ''De finibus''. The placeholder text is taken from parts of the first book's discourse on
Epicureanism
Epicureanism is a system of philosophy founded around 307 BC based upon the teachings of the ancient Greek philosopher Epicurus. Epicureanism was originally a challenge to Platonism. Later its main opponent became Stoicism.
Few writings by Epi ...
. Words of the original text have been altered, added, and removed in Lorem ipsum to make it nonsensical, improper
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
.
See also
* ''
Summum bonum
''Summum bonum'' is a Latin expression meaning the highest or ultimate good, which was introduced by the Roman philosopher Cicero to denote the fundamental principle on which some system of ethics is based — that is, the aim of actions, which, ...
''
External links
''De finibus bonorum et malorum'', Latin text English translation by Harris Rackham,
LacusCurtius
Side by Side Latin and English, transl. by Harris Rackham Google Books
*
{{Authority control
1st-century BC works
Philosophical works by Cicero