Cicero Quotes on God
Marcus Tullius Cicero was a Roman statesman, orator, lawyer, and philosopher of the late Roman Republic, who served as consul in 63 BC and was murdered in 43 BC during the proscriptions of the Second Triumvirate. This page collects quotes attributed to Cicero on the topic of god, drawn from across the philosopher's works.
Quotes
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“since our leading men think themselves in a seventh heaven, if there are bearded mullets in their fish-ponds that will come to hand for food, and neglect everything else, do not you think that I am doing no mean service if I secure that those who have the power, should not have the will, to do any harm?”
Letters to Atticus, Book II, 1. -
“I say, then, that the universe and all its parts both received their first order from divine providence, and are at all times administered by it.”
De Natura Deorum–On the Nature of the Gods(45 BC) | Book II, section 30 -
“Does not, as fire dropped upon water is immediately extinguished and cooled, so, does not, I say, a false accusation, when brought in contact with a most pure and holy life, instantly fall and become extinguished?”
Cicero , Pro Roscio Comodeo Oratio , 17; C.D. Yonge translation -
“And what can be more divine than the exhalations of the earth, which affect the human soul so as to enable her to predict the future ? And could the hand of time evaporate such a virtue? Do you suppose you are talking of some kind of wine or salted meat ?”
De Divinatione–On Divination(44 BC) | Book I, Chapter III