Laelius on Friendship (M. Tullius Cicero)

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	Laelius on Friendship Author: M. Tullius Cicero	Translator: William Armistead Falconer
1	Q . Mucius augur multa narrare de C . Laelio socero suo memoriter et iucunde solebat nec dubitare illum in omni sermone appellare sapientem . ego autem a patre ita eram deductus ad Scaevolam sumpta virili toga , ut , quoad possem et liceret , a senis latere numquam discederem . itaque multa ab eo prudenter disputata , multa etiam breviter et commode dicta memoriae mandabam , fierique studebam eius prudentia doctior . quo mortuo me ad pontificem Scaevolam contuli , quem unum nostrae civitatis et ingenio et iustitia praestantissimum audeo dicere . sed de hoc alias , nunc redeo ad augurem .	QUINTUS MUCIUS SCAEVOLA, the augur, used to relate with an accurate memory and in a pleasing way many incidents about his father-in-law, Gaius Laelius, and, in every mention of him, did not hesitate to call him the Wise. Now, I, upon assuming the toga virilis,had been introduced by my father to Scaevola with the understanding that, so far as I could and he would permit, I should never leave the old man’s side. And so it came to pass that, in my desire to gain greater profit from his legal skill, I made it a practice to commit to memory many of his learned opinions and many, too, of his brief and pointed sayings. After his death I betook myself to the pontiff, Scaevola, who, both in intellect and in integrity, was, I venture to assert, quite the most distinguished man of our State. But of him I shall speak at another time; now I return to the augur.
2	cum saepe multa , tum memini domi in hemicyclio sedentem , ut solebat , cum et ego essem una et pauci admodum familiares , in eum sermonem illum incidere , qui tum fere multis erat in ore . meministi enim profecto , Attice , et eo magis , quod P . Sulpicio utebare multum , cum is tribunus plebis capitali odio a Q . Pompeio , qui tum erat consul , dissideret , quocum coniunctissime et amantissime vixerat , quanta esset hominum vel admiratio vel querella .	Numerous events in the latter’s life often recur to me, but the most memorable one of all occurred at his home, as he was sitting, according to his custom, on a semi-circular garden bench, when I and only a few of his intimate friends were with him, and he happened to fall upon a topic which, just about that time, was in many people’s mouths. You, Atticus, were much in the society of Publius Sulpicius, and on that account are the more certain to remember what great astonishment, or rather complaining, there was among the people when Sulpicius, while plebeian tribune, separated himself in deadly hatred from the then consul, Quintus Pompeius, with whom he had lived on the most intimate and affectionate terms.
3	itaque tum Scaevola , cum in eam ipsam mentionem incidisset , exposuit nobis sermonem Laeli de amicitia habitum ab illo secum et cum altero genero C . Fannio , Marci filio , paucis diebus post mortem Africani . eius disputationis sententias memoriae mandavi , quas hoc libro exposui arbitratu meo ; quasi enim ipsos induxi loquentis , ne inquam et inquit saepius interponeretur atque ut tamquam a praesentibus coram haberi sermo videretur .	And so, Scaevola, having chanced to mention this very fact, thereupon proceeded to repeat to us a discussion on friendship, which Laelius had had with him and with another son-in-law, Gaius Fannius, son of Marcus, a few days after the death of Africanus. I committed the main points of that discussion to memory, and have set them out in the present book in my own way; for I have, so to speak, brought the actors themselves on the stage in order to avoid the too frequent repetition of said I and said he, and to create the impression that they are present and speaking in person.
4	cum enim saepe mecum ageres , ut de amicitia scriberem aliquid , digna mihi res cum omnium cognitione tum nostra familiaritate visa est ; itaque feci non invitus ut prodessem multis rogatu tuo . sed ut in Catone maiore , qui est scriptus ad te de senectute , Catonem induxi senem disputantem , quia nulla videbatur aptior persona quae de illa aetate loqueretur , quam eius , qui et diutissime senex fuisset et in ipsa senectute praeter ceteros floruisset ; sic , cum accepissemus a patribus maxime memorabilem C . Laeli et P . Scipionis familiaritatem fuisse , idonea mihi Laeli persona visa est quae de amicitia ea ipsa dissereret , quae disputata ab eo meminisset Scaevola . genus autem hoc sermonum positum in hominum veterum auctoritate et eorum illustrium plus nescio quo pacto videtur habere gravitatis : itaque ipse mea legens sic afficior interdum , ut Catonem , non me , loqui existimem .	For while you were pleading with me again and again to write something on friendship, the subject appealed to me as both worthy of general study, and also well fitted to our intimacy. Therefore I have not been unwilling to benefit the public at your request. But, as in my Cato the Elder, which was written to you on the subject of old age, I represented Cato, when an old man, as the principal speaker, because I thought no one more suitable to talk of that period of life than he who had been old a very long time and had been a favourite of fortune in old age beyond other men; so, since we had learned from our forefathers that the intimacy of Gaius Laelius and Publius Scipio was most noteworthy, I concluded that Laelius was a fit person to expound the very views on friendship which Scaevola remembered that he had maintained. Besides, discourses of this kind seem in some way to acquire greater dignity when founded on the influence of men of ancient times, especially such as are renowned; and, hence, in reading my own work on Old Age I am at times so affected that I imagine Cato is the speaker and not myself.
5	sed ut tum ad senem senex de senectute , sic hoc libro ad amicum amicissimus scripsi de amicitia . tum est Cato locutus , quo erat nemo fere senior temporibus illis , nemo prudentior ; nunc Laelius et sapiens , sic enim est habitus , et amicitiae gloria excellens de amicitia loquetur . tu velim a me animum parumper avertas , Laelium loqui ipsum putes . C . Fannius et Q . Mucius ad socerum veniunt post mortem Africani ; ab his sermo oritur , respondet Laelius , cuius tota disputatio est de amicitia , quam legens te ipse cognosces	But as in that book I wrote as one old man to another old man on the subject of old age, so now in this book I have written as a most affectionate friend to a friend on the subject of friendship. In the former work the speaker was Cato, whom scarcely any in his day exceeded in age and none surpassed in wisdom; in the present treatise the speaker on friendship will be Laelius, a wise man (for he was so esteemed), and a man who was distinguished by a glorious friendship. Please put me out of your mind for a little while and believe that Laelius himself is talking. Gaius Fannius and Quintus Mucius Scaevola have come to their father-in-law’s house just after the death of Africanus; the conversation is begun by them and reply is made by Laelius, whose entire discourse is on friendship, and as you read it you will recognize in it a portrait of yourself.
6	FANNIUS. Sunt ista , Laeli ; nec enim melior vir fuit Africano quisquam nec clarior . sed existimare debes omnium oculos in te esse coniectos unum ; te sapientem et appellant et existimant Tribuebatur hoc modo M . Catoni , scimus L . Acilium apud patres nostros appellatum esse sapientem , sed uterque alio quodam modo : Acilius quia prudens esse in iure civili putabatur , Cato quia multarum rerum usum habebat et multa eius et in senatu et in foro vel provisa prudenter vel acta constanter vel responsa acute ferebantur ; propterea quasi cognomen iam habebat in senectute sapientis .	FANNIUS. What you say is true, Laelius; for there was no better man than Africanus, and no one more illustrious. But you should realize that all men have fixed their eyes on you alone; you it is whom they both call and believe to be wise. Recentlythis title was given to Marcus Cato and we know that Lucius Acilius was called the Wise in our fathers’ time, but each of them in a somewhat different way: Acilius because of his reputation for skill in civil law; Cato because of his manifold experience, and because of the many well-known instances wherein both in Senate and forum he displayed shrewdness of foresight, resolution of conduct, or sagacity in reply; and as a result, by the time he had reached old age, he bore the title of the Wise as a sort of cognomen.
7	Te autem alio quodam modo non solum natura et moribus , verum etiam studio et doctrina esse sapientem , nec sicut volgus , sed ut eruditi solent appellare sapientem , qualem in Graecia reliqua neminem — nam qui septem appellantur , eos qui ista subtilius quaerunt in numero sapientium non habent — Athenis unum accepimus et eum quidem etiam Apollinis oraculo sapientissimum iudicatum . hanc esse in te sapientiam existimant , ut omnia tua in te posita esse ducas humanosque casus virtute inferiores putes . itaque ex me quaerunt , credo ex hoc item Scaevola , quonam pacto mortem Africani feras , eoque magis quod proximis Nonis , cum in hortos D . Bruti auguris commentandi causa , ut assolet , venissemus , tu non affuisti , qui diligentissime semper ilium diem et illud munus solitus esses obire .	But as to yourself, men are wont to call you wise in a somewhat different way, not only because of your mental endowments and natural character, but also because of your devotion to study and because of your culture, and they employ the term in your case, not as the ignorant do, but as learned men employ it. And in this sense we have understood that no one in all Greece was wise except one in Athens, and he,I admit, was actually adjudged most wise by the oracle of Apollo—for the more captious critics refuse to admit those who are called The Seven into the category of the wise. Your wisdom, in public estimation, consists in this: you consider all your possessions to be within yourself and believe human fortune of less account than virtue. Hence the question is put to me and to Scaevola here, too, I believe, as to how you bear the death of Africanus, and the inquiry is the more insistent because, on the last Nones,when we had met as usual for the practiceof our augural art in the country home of Decimus Brutus, you were not present, though it had been your custom always to observe that day and to discharge its duties with the most scrupulous care.
8	SCAEVOLA. Quaerunt quidem , C . Laeli , multum , ut est a Fannio dictum , sed ego id respondeo , quod animum adverti , te dolorem quem acceperis cum summi viri tum amicissimi morte ferre moderate ; nec potuisse non commoveri , nec fuisse id humanitatis tuae : quod autem Nonis in collegio nostro non affuisses , valetudinem respondeo causam , non maestitiam fuisse . LAELIUS. Recte tu quidem , Scaevola , et vere ; nec enim ab isto officio , quod semper usurpavi cum valerem , abduci incommodo meo debui , nec ullo casu arbitror hoc constanti homini posse contingere , ut ulla intermissio fiat offici .	SCAEVOLA. There is indeed a great deal of questioning, Gaius Laelius, just as Fannius has said, but I state in reply what I have observed: that you bear with composure the pain occasioned by the death of one who was at once a most eminent man and your very dear friend; that you could not be unmoved thereby and that to be so was not consistent with your refined and tender nature and your culture; but as to your not attending our college on the Nones, that, I answer, was due to ill-health and not to grief. LAELIUS. Your reply was excellent, Scaevola, and it was correct; for no personal inconvenience of any kind ought to have kept me from the discharge of the duty you mentioned, and which I have always performed when I was well, nor do I think it possible for any event of this nature to cause a man of strong character to neglect any duty.
9	tu autem , Fanni , quod mihi tantum tribui dicis , quantum ego nec agnosco nec postulo , facis amice , sed , ut mihi videris , non recte iudicas de Catone . aut enim nemo , quod quidem magis credo , aut , si quisquam , ille sapiens fuit . quo modo , ut alia omittam , mortem fili tulit ! memineram Paulum , videram Gallum ; sed hi in pueris , Cato in perfecto et spectato viro .	Now as for your saying, Fannius, that so great merit is ascribed to me—merit such as I neither admit nor claim —you are very kind; but it seems to me that your estimate of Cato is scarcely high enough. For either no man was wise—which really I think is the better view—or, if anyone, it was he. Putting aside all other proof, consider how he bore the death of his son!remembered the case of Paulus, and I had been a constant witness of the fortitude of Gallus, but their sons died in boyhood, while Cato’s son died in the prime of life when his reputation was assured.
10	quam ob rem cave Catoni anteponas ne istum quidem ipsum , quem Apollo , ut ais , sapientissimum iudicavit ; huius enim facta , illius dicta laudantur . De me autem , ut iam cum utroque vestrum loquar , sic habetote :	Therefore, take care not to give the precedence over Cato even to that man, whom, as you say, Apollo adjudged the wisest of men; for the former is praised for his deeds, the latter for his words. Now, as to myself, let me address you both at once and beg you to believe that the case stands thus:
11	ego si Scipionis desiderio me moveri negem , quam id recte faciam viderint sapientes , sed certe mentiar . moveor enim tali amico orbatus , qualis , ut arbitror , nemo umquam erit , ut confirmare possum , nemo certe fuit . sed non egeo medicina : me ipse consolor et maxime illo solacio , quod eo errore careo , quo amicorum decessu plerique angi solent . nihil mali accidisse Scipioni puto ; mihi accidit , si quid accidit ; suis autem incommodis graviter angi non amicum , sed se ipsum amantis est .	If I were to assert that I am unmoved by grief at Scipio’s death, it would be for wise men to judge how far I am right, yet, beyond a doubt, my assertion would be false. For I am indeed moved by the loss of a friend such, I believe, as I shall never have again, and—as I can assert on positive knowledge— a friend such as no other man ever was to me. But I am not devoid of a remedy, and I find very great consolation in the comforting fact that I am free from the delusion which causes most men anguish when their friends depart. I believe that no ill has befallen Scipio; it has befallen me, if it has befallen anyone; but great anguish for one’s own inconveniences is the mark of the man who loves not his friend but himself.
12	cum illo vero quis neget actum esse praeclare ? nisi enim , quod ille minime putabat , immortalitatem optare vellet , quid non adeptus est , quod homini fas esset optare , qui summam spem civium , quam de eo iam puero habuerant , continuo adulescens incredibili virtute superavit ; qui consulatum petivit numquam , factus consul est bis , primum ante tempus , iterum sibi suo tempore , rei publicae paene sero ; qui duabus urbibus eversis inimicissimis huic imperio non modo praesentia , verum etiam futura bella delevit ? quid dicam de moribus facillimis , de pietate in matrem , liberalitate in sorores , bonitate in suos , iustitia in omnis ? nota sunt vobis . quam autem civitati carus fuerit , maerore funeris indicatum est . quid igitur hunc paucorum annorum accessio iuvare potuisset ? senectus enim quamvis non sit gravis , ut memini Catonem anno ante quam est mortuus , mecum et cum Scipione disserere , tamen aufert eam viriditatem , in qua etiam nunc erat Scipio .	But who would say that all has not gone wonderfully well with him? For unless he had wished to live for ever—a wish he was very far from entertaining—what was there, proper for a human being to wish for, that he did not attain? The exalted expectation which his country conceived of him in his childhood, he at a bound, through incredible merit, more than realized in his youth. Though he never sought the consulship, he was elected consul twice—the first timebefore he was of legal age, the second time at a period seasonable for him, but almost too late for the safety of the commonwealth. And he overthrew the two cities that were the deadliest foes of our empire and thereby put an end not only to existing wars, but to future wars as well. Why need I speak of his most affable manners, of his devotion to his mother, of his generosity to his sisters,of his kindness to his relatives, of his strict integrity to all men? These things are well known to you both. Moreover, how dear he was to the State was indicated by the grief displayed at his funeral. How, then, could he have gained any advantage by the addition of a few more years of life? For even though old age may not be a burden—as I remember Cato, the year before he died, maintained in a discourse with Scipio and myself—yet it does take away that freshness which Scipio kept even to the end.
13	quam ob rem vita quidem talis fuit vel fortuna vel gloria , ut nihil posset accedere ; moriendi autem sensum celeritas abstulit . quo de genere mortis difficile dictu est ; quid homines suspicentur videtis : hoc vere tamen licet dicere , P . Scipioni ex multis diebus , quos in vita celeberrimos laetissimosque viderit , illum diem clarissimum fuisse , cum senatu dimisso domum reductus ad vesperum est a patribus conscriptis , populo Romano , sociis et Latinis , pridie quam excessit e vita , ut ex tam alto dignitatis gradu ad superos videatur deos potius quam ad inferos pervenisse .	Therefore, his life really was such that nothing could be added to it either by good fortune or by fame; and, besides, the suddenness of his death took away the consciousness of dying. It is hard to speak of the nature of his death; you both know what people suspect; yet I may say with truth that, of the many very joyous days which he saw in the course of his life—days thronged to the utmost with admiring crowds—the most brilliant was the day before he departed this life, when, after the adjournment of the Senate, he was escorted home toward evening by the Conscript Fathers, the Roman populace, and the Latin allies, so that from so lofty a station of human grandeur he seems to have passed to the gods on high rather than to the shades below.
14	neque enim adsentior eis , qui nuper haec disserere coeperunt , cum corporibus simul animos interire atque omnia morte deleri . plus apud me antiquorum auctoritas valet , vel nostrorum maiorum , qui mortuis tam religiosa iura tribuerunt , quod non fecissent , profecto , si nihil ad eos pertinere arbitrarentur , vel eorum qui in hac terra fuerunt magnamque Graeciam , quae nunc quidem deleta est , tum florebat , institutis et praeceptis suis erudierunt , vel eius , qui Apollinis oraculo sapientissimus est iudicatus , qui non tum hoc tum illud , ut in plerisque , sed idem semper , animos hominum esse divinos eisque , cum ex corpore excessissent , reditum in caelum patere optimoque et iustissimo cuique expeditissimum .	For I do not agree with those who have recently begun to argue that soul and body perish at the same time, and that all things are destroyed by death. I give greater weight to the old-time view, whether it be that of our forefathers, who paid such reverential rites to the dead, which they surely would not have done if they had believed those rites were a matter of indifference to the dead; or, whether it be the view of thosewho lived in this land and by their principles and precepts brought culture to Great Greece,which now, I admit, is wholly destroyed, but was then flourishing; or, whether it be the view of him who was adjudged by the oracle of Apollo to be the wisest of men, who, though he would argue on most subjects now on one side and now on the other, yet always consistently maintained that human souls were of God; that upon their departure from the body a return to heaven lay open to them, and that in proportion as each soul was virtuous and just would the return be easy and direct.
15	quod idem Scipioni videbatur , qui quidem , quasi praesagiret , perpaucis ante mortem diebus , cum et Philus et Manilius adesset et alii plures , tuque etiam Scaevola , mecum venisses , triduum disseruit de re publica , cuius disputationis fuit extremum fere de immortalitate animorum , quae se in quiete per visum ex Africano audisse dicebat . id si ita est , ut optimi cuiusque animus in morte facillime evolet tanquam e custodia vinclisque corporis , cui censemus cursum ad deos faciliorem fuisse quam Scipioni ? quocirca maerere hoc eius eventu vereor ne invidi magis quam amici sit . sin autem illa veriora , ut idem interitus sit animorum et corporum nec ullus sensus maneat , ut nihil boni est in morte , sic certe nihil mali . sensu enim amisso fit idem , quasi natus non esset omnino , quem tamen osse natum et nos gaudemus et haec civitas , dum erit , laetabitur .	Scipio held this same view, for only a few days before his death, in the presence of Philus, Manilius and several others (you were there, too, Scaevola, having gone with me), he, as if with a premonition of his fate, discoursed for three days on the commonwealth, and devoted almost all of the conclusion of his discussion to the immortality of the soul, making use of arguments which he had heard, he said, from Africanus the Elder through a vision in his sleep. If the truth really is that the souls of all good men after death make the easiest escape from what may be termed the imprisonment and fetters of the flesh, whom can we think of as having had an easier journey to the gods than Scipio? Therefore, I fear that grief at such a fate as his would be a sign more of envy than of friendship. But if, on the other hand, the truth rather is that soul and body perish at the same time, and that no sensation remains, then, it follows that, as there is nothing good in death, so, of a certainty, there is nothing evil. For if a man has lost sensation the result is the same as if he had never been born; and yet the fact that Scipio was born is a joy to us and will cause this State to exult so long as it shall exist.
16	quam ob rem cum illo quidem , ut supra dixi , actum optime est , mecum incommodius , quem fuerat aequius , ut prius introieram , sic prius exire de vita . sed tamen recordatione nostrae amicitiae sic fruor , ut beate vixisse videar , quia cum Scipione vixerim , quocum mihi coniuncta cura de publica re et de privata fuit , quocum et domus fuit et militia communis et , id in quo omnis vis est amicitiae , voluntatum studiorum sententiarum summa consensio . itaque non tam ista me sapientiae , quam modo Fannius commemoravit , fama delectat , falsa praesertim , quam quod amicitiae nostrae memoriam spero sempiternam fore , idque eo mihi magis est cordi , quod ex omnibus saeculis vix tria aut quattuor nominantur paria amicorum , quo in genere sperare videor Scipionis et Laeli amicitiam notam posteritati fore .	Wherefore, as I have already said, it has gone very well with him, less so with me, for, as I was before him in entering life, it had been more reasonable to expect that I should have been before him in leaving it. Still, such is my enjoyment in the recollection of our friendship that I feel as if my life has been happy because it was spent with Scipio, with whom I shared my public and private cares; lived under the same roof at home; served in the same campaigns abroad, and enjoyed that wherein lies the whole essence of friendship—the most complete agreement in policy, in pursuits, and in opinions. Hence, I am not so much delighted by my reputation for wisdom which Fannius just now called to mind, especially since it is undeserved, as I am by the hope that the memory of our friendship will always endure; and this thought is the more pleasing to me because in the whole range of history only three or four pairsof friends are mentioned; and I venture to hope that among such instances the friendship of Scipio and Laelius will be known to posterity.
17	FANNIUS. Istuc quidem , Laeli , ita necesse est . sed quoniam amicitiae mentionem fecisti et sumus otiosi , pergratum mihi feceris — spero item Scaevolae — si , quem ad modum soles de ceteris rebus , cum ex te quaeruntur , sic de amicitia disputaris quid sentias , qualem existimes , quae praecepta des . SCAEVOLA. Mihi vero erit gratum , atque id ipsum cum tecum agere conarer , Fannius antevertit . quam ob rem utrique nostrum gratum admodum feceris .	FANNIUS. That cannot be otherwise, Laelius. But since you have mentioned friendship and we are free from public business, it would be very agreeable to me—and to Scaevola, too, I hope— if, following your usual practice on other subjects when questions concerning them are put to you, you would discuss friendship and give us your opinion as to its theory and practice. SCAEVOLA. Indeed it will be agreeable to me, and, in fact, I was about to make the same request when Fannius forestalled me. Hence your compliance will be very agreeable to us both.
18	LAELIUS. Ego vero non gravarer , si mihi ipse confiderem , nam et praeclara res est et sumus , ut dixit Fannius , otiosi . sed quis ego sum aut quae est in me facultas ? doctorum est ista consuetudo eaque . Graecorum , ut eis ponatur de quo disputent quamvis subito . magnum opus est egetque exercitatione non parva . quam ob rem quae disputari de amicitia possunt , ab eis censeo petatis , qui ista profitentur ; ego vos hortari tantum possum , ut amicitiam omnibus rebus humanis anteponatis ; nihil est enim tam naturae aptum , tam conveniens ad res vel secundas vel adversas .	LAELIUS. I certainly should raise no objection if I felt confidence in myself, for the subject is a noble one, and we are, as Fannius said, free from public business. But who am I? or what skillhave I? What you suggest is a task for philosophers and, what is more, for Greeks—that of discoursing on any subject however suddenly it may be proposed to them. This is a difficult thing to do and requires no little practice. Therefore, for a discussion of everything possible to be said on the subject of friendship, I advise you to apply to those who profess that art; all that I can do is to urge you to put friendship before all things human; for nothing is so conformable to nature and nothing so adaptable to our fortunes whether they be favourable or adverse.
19	sed hoc primum sentio , nisi in bonis amicitiam esse non posse ; neque id ad vivum reseco , ut illi , qui haec subtilius disserunt , fortasse vere , sed ad communem utilitatem parum ; negant enim quemquam esse virum bonum nisi sapientem . sit ita sane : sed eam sapientiam interpretantur , quam adhuc mortalis nemo est consecutus . nos autem ea quae sunt in usu vitaque communi , non ea quae finguntur aut optantur , spectare debemus . numquam ego dicam C . Fabricium , M ’. Curium , Ti . Coruncanium , quos sapientis nostri maiores iudicabant , ad istorum normam fuisse sapientis . qua re sibi habeant sapientiae nomen et invidiosum et obscurum , concedant ut viri boni fuerint . ne id quidem facient ; negabunt id nisi sapienti posse concedi .	This; however, I do feel first of all—that friendship cannot exist except among good men; nor do I go into that too deeply,as is done by thosewho, in discussing this point with more than usual accuracy, and it may be correctly, but with too little view to practical results, say that no one is good unless he is wise. We may grant that; but they understand wisdom to be a thing such as no mortal man has yet attained.I, however, am bound to look at things as they are in the experience of everyday life and not as they are in fancy or in hope. Never could I say that Gaius Fabricius, Manius Curius, and Tiberius Coruncanius, whom our ancestors adjudged to be wise, were wise by such a standard as that. Therefore, let the Sophists keep their unpopularand unintelligible word to themselves, granting only that the men just named were good men. They will not do it though; they will say that goodness can be predicated only of the wise man.
20	agamus igitur pingui , ut aiunt , Minerva . qui ita se gerunt , ita vivunt , ut eorum probetur fides integritas aequitas liberalitas , nec sit in eis ulla cupiditas libido audacia , sintque magna constantia , ut ei fuerunt , modo quos nominavi , hos viros bonos , ut habiti sunt , sic etiam appellandos putemus , quia sequantur , quantum homines possunt , naturam optimam bene vivendi ducem . Sic enim mihi perspicere videor , ita natos esse nos , ut inter omnis esset societas quaedam , maior autem , ut quisque proxime accederet . itaque cives potiores quam peregrini , propinqui quam alieni ; cum his enim amicitiam natura ipsa peperit , sed ea non satis habet firmitatis . namque hoc praestat amicitia propinquitati , quod ex propinquitate benevolentia tolli potest , ex amicitia non potest ; sublata enim benevolentia amicitiae nomen tollitur , propinquitatis manet .	Let us then proceed with our own dull wits, as the saying is. Those who so act and so live as to give proof of loyalty and uprightness, of fairness and generosity; who are free from all passion, caprice, and insolence, and have great strength of character —men like those just mentioned—such men let us consider good, as they were accounted good in life, and also entitled to be called by that term because, in as far as that is possible for man, they follow Nature, who is the best guide to good living. For it seems clear to me that we were so created that between us all there exists a certain tie which strengthens with our proximity to each other. Therefore, fellow countrymen are preferred to foreigners and relatives to strangers, for with them Nature herself engenders friendship, but it is one that is lacking in constancy. For friendship excels relationship in this, that goodwill may be eliminated from relationship while from friendship it cannot; since, if you remove goodwill from friendship the very name of friendship is gone; if you remove it from relationship, the name of relationship still remains.
21	quanta autem vis amicitiae sit ex hoc intellegi maxime potest , quod ex infinita societate generis humani , quam conciliavit ipsa natura , ita contracta res est et adducta in angustum , ut omnis caritas aut inter duos aut inter paucos iungeretur .	Moreover, how great the power of friendship is may most clearly be recognized from the fact that, in comparison with the infinite ties uniting the human race and fashioned by Nature herself, this thing called friendship has been so narrowed that the bonds of affection always unite two persons only, or, at most, a few.
22	est enim amicitia nihil aliud nisi omnium divinarum humanarumque rerum cum benevolentia et caritate consensio , qua quidem haud scio an excepta sapientia nil quicquam melius homini sit a dis immortalibus datum . divitias alii praeponunt , bonam alii valetudinem , alii potentiam , alii honores , multi etiam voluptates . beluarum hoc quidem extremum , illa autem superiora caduca et incerta , posita non tam in consiliis nostris quam in fortunae temeritate . qui autem in virtute summum bonum ponunt , praeclare illi quidem , sed haec ipsa virtus amicitiam et gignit et continet , nec sine virtute amicitia esse ullo pacto potest .	For friendship is nothing else than an accord in all things, human and divine, conjoined with mutual goodwill and affection, and I am inclined to think that, with the exception of wisdom, no better thing has been given to man by the immortal gods. Some prefer riches, some good health, some power, some public honours, and many even prefer sensual pleasures. This last is the highest aim of brutes; the others are fleeting and unstable things and dependent less upon human foresight than upon the fickleness of fortune. Again, there are those who place the chief good in virtue and that is really a noble view; but this very virtue is the parent and preserver of friendship and without virtue friendship cannot exist at all.