Friendship is the only thing in the world concerning the usefulness of which all mankind are agreed.
Marcus Tullius CiceroRead
Whatever is done without ostentation, and without the people being witnesses of it, is, in my opinion, most praiseworthy: not that the public eye should be entirely avoided, for good actions desire to be placed in the light; but notwithstanding this, the greatest theater for virtue is conscience.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Genuine actions are praiseworthy when done privately, as true virtue is recognized by one's own conscience rather than by public attention.
This quote by Cicero emphasizes the importance of performing good deeds without seeking public recognition or approval. It suggests that while it's natural for virtuous acts to be shared and acknowledged, the true essence of virtue lies in the individual's conscience and integrity. Performing actions for their own sake, rather than for the applause of others, is what genuinely defines worthiness and moral character.
Themes
VirtueConscienceGood DeedsHumilityIntegrity
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a speech about the importance of selfless service.
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.
Marcus Tullius CiceroRead
Orators are most vehement when their cause is weak.
Marcus Tullius CiceroRead
Nothing contributes to the entertainment of the reader more, than the change of times and the vicissitudes of fortune.
Marcus Tullius CiceroRead
No one has the right to be sorry for himself for a misfortune that strikes everyone.
Marcus Tullius CiceroRead
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.
Marcus Tullius CiceroRead
Similar quotes
Don't accept or be crippled by the media hype that aging is bad or shameful.
Valerie HarperRead
Ultimately, we all have to decide for ourselves what constitutes failure, but the world is quite eager to give you a set of criteria if you let it.
J. K. RowlingRead
I have great respect for the past. If you don't know where you've come from, you don't know where you're going. I have respect for the past, but I'm a person of the moment. I'm here, and I do my best to be completely centered at the place I'm at, then I go forward to the next place.
Maya AngelouRead
Gratitude is a vaccine, an antitoxin, and an antiseptic. This is a most searching and true diagnosis. Gratitude can be a vaccine that can prevent the invasion of a disgruntled attitude. As antitoxins prevent the disastrous effects of certain poisons and diseases, thanksgiving destroys the poison of faultfinding and grumbling. When trouble has smitten us, a spirit of thanksgiving is a soothing antiseptic.
John Henry JowettRead
Age is only a number, a cipher for the records. A man can't retire his experience. He must use it. Experience achieves more with less energy and time.
Bernard BaruchRead
Now all my teachers are dead except silence.
W. S. MerwinRead