De Natura Deorum
Encyclopedia
De Natura Deorum is a philosophical dialogue by Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....

 orator Cicero
Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero , was a Roman philosopher, statesman, lawyer, political theorist, and Roman constitutionalist. He came from a wealthy municipal family of the equestrian order, and is widely considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists.He introduced the Romans to the chief...

 written in 45 BC. It is laid out in three "books", each of which discuss the theology of different Roman and Greek philosophers
Greek philosophy
Ancient Greek philosophy arose in the 6th century BCE and continued through the Hellenistic period, at which point Ancient Greece was incorporated in the Roman Empire...

. The dialogue uses a discussion of Stoic
Stoicism
Stoicism is a school of Hellenistic philosophy founded in Athens by Zeno of Citium in the early . The Stoics taught that destructive emotions resulted from errors in judgment, and that a sage, or person of "moral and intellectual perfection," would not suffer such emotions.Stoics were concerned...

, Epicurean
Epicureanism
Epicureanism is a system of philosophy based upon the teachings of Epicurus, founded around 307 BC. Epicurus was an atomic materialist, following in the steps of Democritus. His materialism led him to a general attack on superstition and divine intervention. Following Aristippus—about whom...

, and skeptical
Platonic Academy
The Academy was founded by Plato in ca. 387 BC in Athens. Aristotle studied there for twenty years before founding his own school, the Lyceum. The Academy persisted throughout the Hellenistic period as a skeptical school, until coming to an end after the death of Philo of Larissa in 83 BC...

 theories to examine fundamental questions of theology
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...

.

Description

The dialogue is on the whole narrated by Cicero himself, though he does not play an active part in the discussion. Gaius Velleius represents the Epicurean school, Quintius Lucilius Balbus argues for the Stoics, and Gaius Cotta speaks for Cicero's own Academic skepticism. The first book of the dialogue contains Cicero's introduction, Velleius' case for the Epicurean theology and Cotta's criticism of Epicureanism. Book II focuses on Balbus' explanation and defense of Stoic theology. Book III lays out Cotta's criticism of Balbus' claims.

This work, alongside De Officiis
De Officiis
De Officiis is an essay by Marcus Tullius Cicero divided into three books, in which Cicero expounds his conception of the best way to live, behave, and observe moral obligations.- Origin :...

and De Divinatione
De Divinatione
Cicero's De Divinatione is a philosophical treatise in two books written in 44 BC. It takes the form of a dialogue whose interlocutors are Cicero and his brother Quintus....

was highly influential on the philosophes of the 18th century; Voltaire
Voltaire
François-Marie Arouet , better known by the pen name Voltaire , was a French Enlightenment writer, historian and philosopher famous for his wit and for his advocacy of civil liberties, including freedom of religion, free trade and separation of church and state...

 called it "(...) perhaps the best book of all antiquity".

Quotes

  • The consequence of which is that there are many things probable; and although they are not subjects of actual perception to our senses, yet they have so grand and glorious an aspect that a wise man governs his life thereby. (To us, probability is the very guide of life) [Lat., Res enim nulla est, de qua tantopere non solum indocti, sed etiam docti dissentiant; quorum opiniones cum tam variae sint tamque inter se dissidentes, alterum fieri profecto potest, ut earum nulla, alterum certe non potest, ut plus una vera sit.(I, 5)
  • We, on the contrary, make blessedness of life depend upon an untroubled mind, and exemption from all duties. (We think a happy life consists in tranquility of mind). [Lat., Nos autem beatam vitam in animi securitate et in omnium vacatione munerum ponimus.] (I, 53)
  • Because all the sick do not recover, therefore medicine is not an art. [Lat., Ne aegri quidem quia non omnes convalescunt, idcirco ars nulla medicina est.] (II, 12)
  • Things perfected by nature are better than those finished by art. [Lat., Meliora sunt ea quae natura quam illa quae arte perfecta sunt.] (II, 87)
  • There never was a great man unless through divine inspiration
    Afflatus
    Afflatus is a Latin term derived from Cicero that has been translated as "inspiration." Cicero's usage was a literalizing of "inspiration," which had already become figurative...

    . [Lat., Nemo igitur vir magnus sine aliquo adflatu divino umquam fuit.] (II, 167)

Text


Latin text


Translations

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