However slightly out of tune a harp or flute may be, the fault is still detected by a connoisseur; so we must be on the watch lest haply something in our life be out of tune--nay, rather, far greater is the need for painstaking, inasmuch as harmony of actions is far better and far more important than harmony of sounds.
In a philosophical work on moral duties, this passage uses a musical analogy to emphasize the critical importance of ethical consistency in one's life.
Share
More from Cicero
For we are all attracted and drawn to a zeal for learning and knowing; and we think it glorious to excel therein, while we count it base and immoral to fall into error, to wander from the truth, to be ignorant, to be led astray.
Such acts of generosity are not to be so highly esteemed as those which are performed with judgment, deliberation, and mature consideration.
For whereas there are many, as I have said before, who place the achievements of war above those of peace, so one may find many to whom adventurous, hot-headed counsels seem more brilliant and more impressive than calm and well-considered…
Other voices in this conversation
