Marcus Cicero wrote De Officiis (also known as On Obligations) in less than four weeks, in the Fall of 44 BC. It is a long that details Cicero's idea of the best way to live. The treatise is split into three separate books. Book One deals with what is honorable. Book Two deals with the honorable way in which to gain money, popularity and power. Book Three deals with what to do when there is a conflict of interest between the right thing to do and the beneficial thing to do, in other words, whether to do what is really right or what is right for you, the individual.
The essay is written in the form of a personal letter to Cicero's son, but it is believed that this was a cover and that the work was intended for a much larger audience. The essay is heavily influenced by the work of Panaetius, a Greek philosopher who introduced Stoicism to Rome. Stoicism, a Greek philosophy, contends that everything in nature is a result of logic, and that the path to enlightenment is through acceptance of the present and the absence of fear or anticipation about the future, or regret about the past. Stoicism was the surprising influencer of the hippie movement in the late 1960s, as it accepted living in the now as the only true way to be happy. By the time he began the third book in the treatise, Cicero had stopped basing his philosophies on Panaetius', and began putting forward thoughts that were entirely his own. For his part, Cicero consistently denied being influenced by anyone and considered On Duties to be the explanation of his own spiritual enlightenment.
Cicero was preoccupied at the time of writing with the prospect of a revolution; there were revolutionary forces threatening the future of the Roman Republic, and Cicero publicly came down heavily against the revolutionaries. Unfortunately even his best efforts could not prevent a take-over; Cesar was assassinated, and Cicero too was killed shortly after writing On Duties. It was published posthumously.
The essay was the most influential of Cicero's works, and although it is not based in Christian theology is nonetheless considered a "church" book; St. Ambrose issued a declaration that this, along with all of Cicero's works, were appropriate for church use. During the Middle Ages it was used to define acceptable behavior.
The book has endured as a spiritual and philosophical treatise, but also as an important historical document, because of its detailed eyewitness testimony about life in Rome under the rule of Julius Cesar, whom Cicero often criticized, and considered a dictator.
