Non nuocere, aiutare, non offendere. Rileggere il De officiis di Cicerone nel conflitto tra prossimi e lontani

Abstract

Can Cicero’s De officiis be considered as an excuse for justifying and supporting the common idea that rights, aid and solidarity have been reserved only to those are “close” to us? In the current debate concerning the real universality and the value of human rights, the interpretation of the last work of Arpino’s author, framed in its historical and cultural context, may contribute to a fair restitution of the meaning we assume for the virtue named ratio societatis et communitatis.