Tempora et philosophie dans le De officiis de Cicéron

Cicero’s De officiis can be considered as an occasional work inasmuch as its form and content depend on the biographical, domestic, social and political background of its writing. Nevertheless, the seruiendum tempori necessity is not sufficient to explain the meaning of the treatise, in which Cicero intends to show the ethical stakes of social life. Meeting point of philosophy and action, the tempora are the working material of theoretical thinking. By insisting on the «temporalism » of duties, Cicero aims to actualize the morality in human society.