previous next
[142] 40. Next, then, we must discuss orderliness of1 conduct and seasonableness of occasions. These two qualities are embraced in that science which the Greeks call εὐταξία—not that εὐταξία which we translate with moderation [modestia], derived from moderate; but this is the εὐταξία by which we understand orderly conduct. And so, if we may call it also moderation, it is defined by the Stoics as follows: “Moderation is the science of disposing aright everything that is done or said.” So the essence of orderliness and of right-placing, it seems, will be the same; for orderliness they define also as “the arrangement of things in their suitable and appropriate places.” By “place of action,” moreover, they mean seasonableness of circumstance; and the seasonable circumstance for an action is called in Greek εὐκαιρία, in Latin occasio (occasion). So it comes about that in this sense moderation, which we [p. 147] explain as I have indicated, is the science of doing the right thing at the right time.

1 Orderliness— the right thing at the right time.

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

An XML version of this text is available for download, with the additional restriction that you offer Perseus any modifications you make. Perseus provides credit for all accepted changes, storing new additions in a versioning system.

load focus Notes (Walter Miller, 1913)
load focus Introduction (Walter Miller, 1913)
load focus Latin (Walter Miller, 1913)
hide References (4 total)
  • Cross-references in indexes to this page (4):
    • M. Tullius Cicero, De Officiis: index, Greek
    • M. Tullius Cicero, De Officiis: index, Moderation
    • M. Tullius Cicero, De Officiis: index, Orderliness
    • M. Tullius Cicero, De Officiis: index, Stoics
hide Display Preferences
Greek Display:
Arabic Display:
View by Default:
Browse Bar: