Laelius de Amicitia is a treatise on friendship by the Roman statesman and author Marcus Tullius Cicero. Marcus Tullius Cicero ( Classical Latin ˈkikeroː usually ˈsɪsərəʊ in English January 3, 106 BC &ndash December 7, 43 BC was a Roman
Summary
Cicero writes about his own experience with friendship in a way that anyone can relate to throughout time. Friendship is a term used to denote co-operative and supportive behavior between two or more beings After the death of a good friend Titus Pomponius Atticus, Cicero ponders the meaning of this friendship, how he could bear the loss, and explicates his grounds for bereavement. Death is the termination of the biological functions that define living Organisms It refers both to a specific He enumerates what qualities make for good friends, explains what characteristics expose a bad friend, and provides examples from his personal life. Throughout the book, Cicero emphasizes the importance of virtue in friendship and how true friendship cannot exist without it. His views on friendship are similar to those of a young Timothy McCarthy, both of the men criticizing the common place of the word "friend" in society. He writes this philosophy in the style of early Greek philosophers to get to the bottom of the concept of friendship, while presenting his case straightforwardly and in a way that that resonates in each of us through human understanding. Philosophy is the study of general problems concerning matters such as existence knowledge truth beauty justice validity mind and language Ancient Greek philosophy focused on the role of Reason and Inquiry.
Writing style
The work is written as a dialogue between prominent figures of the Middle Roman republic and is set after the death of the younger Scipio Africanus (otherwise known as Scipio Aemilianus, Scipio Africanus Minor, or Scipio the Younger) in 129 BC. A dialogue (sometimes spelled dialog) is a reciprocal Conversation between two or more entities. The Roman Republic was the phase of the ancient Roman civilization characterized by a Republican form of government a period which began with the overthrow of the Publius Cornelius Scipio Aemilianus Africanus Numantinus (185 - 129 BC also known as Scipio Aemilianus or Scipio Africanus the Younger, was a leading general and The interlocutors of the dialogue chosen by Cicero are Gaius Laelius a close friend of the late statesman, and Laelius's two sons-in-law, Gaius Fannius, and Quintus Mucius Scaevola. Gaius Laelius Gf Sapiens (born ca 188 BC was a Roman statesman best known for his friendship with the Roman general and statesman Scipio Aemilianus (Scipio the Quintus Mucius Scaevola Augur (ca 159 BCE – 88 BCE was a politician of the Roman Republic and an early authority on Roman law Interestingly, Scaevola himself was mentor and teacher to Cicero, who probably heard his teacher's reminiscences about these conversations first-hand.
External links
- Laelius de Amicitia (Latin text at Forum Romanum)
- Laelius de Amicitia at LacusCurtius (English translation by W. LacusCurtius is a Website specializing in Ancient Rome, currently hosted on a server at the University of Chicago. A. Falconer, with introduction)
- de Amicitia at Project Gutenberg (English translation by E. Project Gutenberg, abbreviated as PG, is a volunteer effort to Digitize, archive and distribute Cultural works S. Shuckburgh, with introduction), in one file with the de Senectute. On Old Age is an essay written by Cicero in 44 BC on the subject of aging and death