M. Tullius Cicero, De Officiis
Walter Miller, Ed.

[8] What, then, is to hinder me from accepting what seems to me to be probable, while rejecting what seems to be improbable, and from shunning the presumption of dogmatism, while keeping clear of that recklessness of assertion which is as far as possible removed from true wisdom? And as to the fact that our school argues against everything, that is only because we could not get a clear view of what is “probable,” unless a comparative estimate were made of all the arguments on both sides.

But this subject has been, I think, quite fully set forth in my “Academics.” And although, my dear Cicero, you are a student of that most ancient and celebrated school of philosophy, with Cratippus as your master—and he deserves to be classed with the founders of that illustrious sect¹—still I wish our [p. 177] school, which is closely related to yours, not to be unknown to you.

Let us now proceed to the task in hand.