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On Profit and MurderToday's Deep Dive

Cicero

Cicero

Usury Equals Murder

Work

On Duties

Chapter

Book II

Usury Equals MurderAgricultureEthics

Excerpt Preview

"
Of this last kind of comparisons is that quoted from the elder Cato, who, when asked what was the most profitable thing to be done on an estate, replied, “To feed cattle well.” “What second best?” “To feed cattle moderately well.” “What third best?” “To feed cattle, though but poorly.” “What fourth best?” “To plough the land.” And...

- On Duties

Today's Analysis

Cicero recounts Cato's famous hierarchy of agricultural profit to argue that usury is not merely bad business, but a moral crime equivalent to murder.

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