Back De fato Catalan De fato German De fato Greek De fato Spanish De fato French De fato (Cicerone) Italian De fato Dutch
 Bound edition of De divinatione and De fato, 1828 | |
| Author | Marcus Tullius Cicero |
|---|---|
| Language | Latin |
| Subject | Fate and free will |
| Genre | Dialogue |
Publication date | 44 BC |
De Fato (English: "Concerning Fate") is a partially lost philosophical treatise written by the Roman orator Cicero in 44 BC. Only two-thirds of the work exists; the beginning and ending are missing.[1][2] It takes the form of a dialogue, although it reads more like an exposition,[1][3] whose interlocutors are Cicero and his friend Aulus Hirtius.
In the work, Cicero analyzes the concept of Fate, and suggests that free will is a condition of Fate.[4][5] Cicero, however, does not consciously deal with the distinction between fatalism and determinism.[6]
It appears that De Fato is an appendix to the treatise on theology formed by the three books of De Natura Deorum and the two books of De Divinatione.[7] These three books provide important information regarding Stoic cosmology and theology.[8]
- ^ a b R. W. Sharples. Cicero: On Fate (De fato) & Boethius: The Consolation of Philosophy IV.5-7, V (Philosophiae Consolationis). Aris & Phillips Ltd, 1991.
- ^ Preface, iv
- ^ Introduction, 5
- ^ Cicero, Marcus Tullius. Trans. C.D. Yonge The treatises of M.T. Cicero: On the nature of the gods; On divination; On fate; On the republic; On the laws; and On standing for the consulship. pg. 264. London G. Bell, 1878. Web.
- ^ Cicero, De fato. I.
- ^ Henry, Margaret Y. Cicero's Treatment of the Free Will Problem. Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association, 58 pp. 32-42. The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1927. Web.
- ^ Cicero. On the Orator: Book 3. On Fate. Stoic Paradoxes. Divisions of Oratory, pg. 189. Translated by H. Rackham. Loeb Classical Library 349. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1942.
- ^ Colish, Marcia. The Stoic Tradition from Antiquity to the Early Middle Ages, Volume 1, pg 109