- published: 28 Jul 2016
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Duty (from "due" meaning "that which is owing"; Old French: deu, did, past participle of devoir; Latin: debere, debitum, whence "debt") is a term that conveys a sense of moral commitment or obligation to someone or something. The moral commitment should result in action; it is not a matter of passive feeling or mere recognition. When someone recognizes a duty, that person theoretically commits himself to its fulfillment without considering their own self-interest. This is not to suggest that living a life of duty entirely precludes a life of leisure; however, its fulfillment generally involves some sacrifice of immediate self-interest. Typically, "the demands of justice, honor, and reputation are deeply bound up" with duty.
Cicero, an early philosopher who discusses duty in his work “On Duty", suggests that duties can come from four different sources:
So you're done your duty relax Four and twenty for life But that faceless man and his plans Been giving you sleepless nights Reap all you've sown He'll make you bleed This is a hunger you can't feed
White knuckle ride in the queue Just don't know what to say Always played by the rules But now it's redundancy day Worked hard all this life Still you can't go free This is a hunger you can't feed
I take it all and I hide it away Just be grateful There are killers and thieves That need to be paid So be grateful
We have no off-shore accounts No mountain of gold in a vault We get by on final demands Living under assault Another bailiff to fight He'll make you bleed This is a hunger you can't feed