Six paradoxes of Stoic ethics restated for a Roman audience: that virtue alone is good, that all sins are equal, that the wise man is always free. Cicero makes extreme philosophical claims sound like common sense.
Start ReadingParadox 1: that moral worth is the only good. Cicero defends the Stoic position with Roman examples, particularly against the wealth-worship of his contemporaries.
Paradox 2: that virtue alone is sufficient for happiness. A man of perfect virtue, even in poverty or exile, is happy.
Paradox 3: that all transgressions and right actions are equal. A minor theft and a great crime differ in degree but not in kind — both are departures from the right.
Paradox 4: that every fool is mad. Without the guidance of reason, the soul is in a state of disorder indistinguishable from insanity.
Paradox 5: that only the wise man is free, and every fool is a slave. Slavery to passion is worse than slavery to a master — and far more common.
Paradox 6: that only the wise man is rich. True wealth is contentment. The man who always wants more has nothing, however much he owns.