Short Works · Chapter
CXXV explained
The chapter presents a concise directive on the virtue of obedience, advocating for yielding to law, magistrates, and those wiser than oneself as a proper and fitting course of action.
What happens
The chapter presents a concise directive on the virtue of obedience, advocating for yielding to law, magistrates, and those wiser than oneself as a proper and fitting course of action.
Themes in this chapter
Social Duty and Relationship
The core instruction emphasizes one's duty within the social and political order, advocating for respectful submission to established authority and wisdom.
Practical Ethics and Self-Discipline
The advice is a practical ethical rule for living in society, requiring the self-discipline to subordinate one's own will to legitimate governance and superior understanding.
Key passages
“To yield to law and to a magistrate and to him who is wiser than yourself, is becoming.”
It is proper and honorable to submit to the law, to government officials, and to anyone who possesses greater wisdom than you.
A straightforward ethical maxim defining proper social conduct through obedience to three key authorities: legal, political, and intellectual.