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De Officiis
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== Writing == ''De Officiis'' is written in the form of a letter to his son [[Cicero Minor]], who studied philosophy in [[Athens]]. Judging from its form, it is nonetheless likely that Cicero wrote with a broader audience in mind. The essay was published posthumously. Although Cicero was influenced by the [[New Academy|Academic]], [[Peripatetic school|Peripatetic]], and [[Stoicism|Stoic]] schools of Greek philosophy, this work shows the influence of the Stoic philosopher [[Panaetius]].<ref name="atkinsxix">{{Harvnb|Atkins|Griffin|1991|p=xix}}</ref><ref name=Loeb>Cicero, Miller: [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A2007.01.0048%3Abook%3Dpos%3D3%3Asection%3D23 ''On Duty''], iii. 23</ref> Panaetius was a Greek philosopher who had resided in Rome around eighty years previously.<ref name="dunlop257">{{Harvnb|Dunlop|1827|p=257}}</ref> He wrote a book ''On Duties'' ({{langx|el|Περὶ Καθήκοντος}}) in which he divided his subject into three parts but had left the work unfinished at the third stage.<ref name="dunlop257"/> Although Cicero draws from many other sources, for his first two books he follows the steps of Panaetius fairly closely.<ref name="millerxiv">{{Harvnb|Miller|1913|p=xiv}}</ref> The third book is more independent,<ref name="millerxiv"/> and Cicero disclaims having been indebted to any preceding writers on the subject.<ref name="dunlop258">{{Harvnb|Dunlop|1827|p=258}}</ref> Michael Grant tells us that "Cicero himself seems to have regarded this treatise as his spiritual testament and masterpiece."<ref>Cicero, Grant: "Selected Works", p. 158</ref> Cicero urged his son Marcus to follow nature and wisdom, as well as politics, and warned against pleasure and indolence. Cicero's essay relies heavily on [[anecdote]]s, much more than his other works, and is written in a more leisurely and less formal style than his other writings, perhaps because he wrote it hastily. Like the [[satire]]s of [[Satires of Juvenal|Juvenal]], Cicero's ''De Officiis'' refers frequently to current events of his time.
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