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De Officiis (Oxford Classical Texts, Latin Edition)

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It has been said in the past by prominent Christians that a person familiar with Cicero's De Oficiis can be moral without having read the Bible. What a fitting statement for this book! De Oficiis shows you how to lead a moral life, as a father would tell his son (in fact, this work is a series of libelli written from Cicero to his own son). Particularly if you are in a position of power, or aspire to someday ascend to that status, this is a must-read. For a contrasting view, also read Nicollo Machiavelli's The Prince.

It has been said in the past by prominent Christians that a person familiar with Cicero's De Oficiis can be moral without having read the Bible. What a fitting statement for this book! De Oficiis shows you how to lead a moral life, as a father would tell his son (in fact, this work is a series of libelli written from Cicero to his own son). Particularly if you are in a position of power, or aspire to someday ascend to that status, this is a must-read. For a contrasting view, also read Nicollo Machiavelli's The Prince.

Not only does this work of Cicero's beautifully lay out a feasible system of ethics, it also describes the relationship between virtue and utility and how one may pursue morality. Also, Winterbottom does a fantastic job editing this masterpiece, with quite helpful apparatus criticus, preface, and indices. A beautiful text for a most brilliant piece of Latin literature!