De officiis vs Nicomachean Ethics: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Ancient Ethics, Ethics, Early works to 1800, Friendship, Philosophy
De officiis
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The most extraordinary and influential treatise ever written on political ethics. Though composed in late 44 B.C., it is relevant and applicable even today. Cicero has outlined all the aspects which aspiring politicians…
Nicomachean Ethics
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An detailed examination of what the best life might be for human beings. In order to anwer this question, Aristotle finds he also has to examine what virtue itself is and all of the various virtues that might make up…
Side by side
The verdict
- Ratings are close across the board — any is a safe pick by score.
- Nicomachean Ethics is the quickest read — about 3 hours vs 7 for De officiis.
- Nicomachean Ethics has the widest readership — 101 ratings behind its score.
Scores by source
| De officiis | Nicomachean Ethics | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | 3.5 (2) | 3.6 (78) |
| Hardcover | — | 3.9 (101) |
| Apple Books | — | 5.0 (6) |
Reception
| De officiis | Nicomachean Ethics | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 2 | 101 |
| Editions | 129 | 416 |
| Citations | — | 3782 |
| Film adaptations | 1 | 1 |
| Want to read | 3 | 346 |
| Reading it now | — | 14 |
| Written reviews | 1 | 5 |
| Wikipedia attention | 1837 | 12817 |
| Pages | 423 | 165 |
Questions readers ask
Which is rated higher: De officiis or Nicomachean Ethics?
Nicomachean Ethics has the higher combined reader rating across sources (Nicomachean Ethics 3.8/5, De officiis 3.8/5).
Which is shorter to read: De officiis or Nicomachean Ethics?
Nicomachean Ethics is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: Nicomachean Ethics (165 pages, ≈ 3 h 03 m); De officiis (423 pages, ≈ 7 h 50 m).
Which is harder to read: De officiis or Nicomachean Ethics?
Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — De officiis: Demanding; Nicomachean Ethics: Demanding.