proverb · Legacy record
There is no duty more obligatory than the repayment of kindness. – Cicero
There is no duty more obligatory than the repayment of kindness. – Cicero
Historical period not yet established
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
Repayment of kindness called the strongest duty places gratitude at the centre of obligation. The supplied wording also includes an attribution to Cicero.
What the words are saying
The anthology attribution is preserved but not independently verified here. A responsible reading can value a thoughtful response to help without making gratitude an unlimited debt. A kindness does not entitle its giver to control, unwanted intimacy or compliance with later harmful demands.
Everyday example
Someone acknowledges help in a freely chosen way while declining an unrelated unfair demand.
When to use it
Use it as a view of gratitude with autonomy and limits retained.
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What it does not mean
No independently verified attribution or unlimited debt through kindness is established.
Agent-assisted editorial interpretation. This explains the words; it does not by itself verify their author or earliest origin.
Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- Traditional
Attribution: traditional - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- Historical period not yet established
No sufficiently supported historical placement has been established. Import and download dates are not treated as composition dates. - Recorded source
- Contributor-provided wisdom reference (2014 AD)
Supplied reference B; unit 726; PDF page 67; collection label: Latin
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.
- Culture
- Latin