Why our politicians should read Cicero

It would make a pleasant change if elected politicians were to make it their ambition to be honestus, Latin for “honorable, moral, a person of integrity.” This brought a man high acclaim because by definition an honest man would be useful, i.e., of benefit, to his country. So argued the statesman Cicero in his three-volume On Duties, composed over four frantic weeks in 44 BC, during the civil war and collapse of the Roman Republic after Julius Caesar’s assassination.

In the first volume, Cicero identified the roots of moral integrity in man’s natural instincts and powers of reasoning. That turns him into a social being, while reason also instills in him a desire for truth — an essential ingredient of justice, law, and a feeling for order and propriety in word and deed.

Such integrity, went on Cicero, could be summarized under four general headings, the so-called “cardinal virtues.” The first and most important is wisdom, related to commitment to the truth, and to man’s zeal for learning and grappling with important problems — moral, legal and scientific. The three other virtues deal with the business of life: the maintenance of an ordered society in which everyone meets his obligations and gives every man his due; greatness of spirit, rising above love of gain; and the moderation that generates temperance and self-control.

Cicero then reviewed those three virtues under a wide range of headings: distinguishing between public and private interests; using one’s talents; keeping one’s promises; humanity in war; good faith; fair treatment of slaves; generosity; courage; patriotism and public service without partisanship, self-seeking, spite or arrogance, but rather humility and magnanimity. In the second volume Cicero argued that there is no distinction between moral integrity and usefulness, while the third debated cases illustrating difficult problems raised by that claim.

The influence of On Duties was once enormous (it was the first printed Latin text, 1465), but no longer. Cicero’s values are not ours. After all, what talk show host/ lifestyle guru/influencer/chef/wellness advisor/actor (add “and comedian” throughout) or other glittering arbiter of modern mores talks of “honor” or “duty” now, let alone a politician?

This article was originally published in The Spectator’s September 2024 World edition.