On the record44 BC
Nay, if you eliminate from nature the tie of affection, there will be an end of house and city, nor will so much as the cultivation of the soil be left.
Said by
Cicero
Source
gutenberg.orgCicero: “Nay, if you eliminate from nature the tie of affection, there will be an end of house and city, nor will so much as the…”
Editor's note · Context
From his philosophical treatise on friendship, Cicero argues that the very fabric of society, from family to state, depends entirely on the principle of affection.
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44 BC
For we contend, for example, with a fellow-citizen in one way, if he is a personal enemy, in another, if he is a rival: with the rival it is a struggle for office and position, with the enemy for life and honour.
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Still, I do not mean to find fault with the accumulation of property, provided it hurts nobody, but unjust acquisition of it is always to be avoided.
44 BC
But while they steer clear of the one kind of injustice, they fall into the other: they are traitors to social life, for they contribute to it none of their interest, none of their effort, none of their means.
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But those wars which have glory for their end must be carried on with less bitterness.
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