Marcus Tullius Cicero · Complete work
Chapter 27
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SECTION 100haec enim etiam in fabulis stultissima persona est improvidorum et credulorum senum.sed nescio quo pacto ab amicitiis perfectorum hominum, id est sapientium—de hac dico sapientia, quae videtur in hominem cadere posse—ad levis amicitias defluxit oratio. quam ob rem ad illa prima redeamus eaque ipsa concludamus aliquando.virtus, inquam, C. Fanni, et tu, Q. Muci, et conciliat amicitias et conservat. in ea est enim convenientia rerum, in ea stabilitas, in ea constantia; quae cum se extulit et ostendit suum lumen et idem aspexit agnovitque in alio, ad id se admovet vicissimque accipit illud, quod in altero est, ex quo exardescit sive amor sive amicitia; utrumque enim dictum est ab amando, Amare autem nihil est aliud nisi eum ipsum diligere quem ames, nulla indigentia, nulla utilitate quaesita. quae tamen ipsa ecflorescit ex amicitia, etiam si tu eam minus secutus sis.
SECTION 101hac nos adulescentes benevolentia senes illos, L. Paulum, M. Catonem, C. Gallum, P. Nasicam, Ti. Gracchum Scipionis nostri socerum dileximus. haec etiam magis elucet inter aequalis, ut inter me et Scipionem, L. Furium, P. Rupilium, Sp. Mummium; vicissim autem senes in adulescentium caritate acquiescimus, ut in vestra, ut in Q. Tuberonis; equidem etiam admodum adulescentis P. Rutili, A. Vergini familiaritate delector. quoniamque ita ratio comparata est vitae naturaeque nostrae, ut alia aetas oriatur, maxime quidem optandum est ut cum aequalibus possis, quibuscum tamquam e carceribus emissus sis, cum isdem ad calcem, ut dicitur, pervenire.
SECTION 102sed quoniam res humanae fragiles caducaeque sunt, semper aliqui anquirendi sunt quos diligamus et a quibus diligamur; caritate enim benevolentiaque sublata omnis est e vita sublata iucunditas. mihi quidem Scipio, quamquam est subito ereptus, vivit tamen semperque vivet; virtutem enim amavi illius viri, quae exstincta non est. nec mihi soli versatur ante oculos, qui illam semper in manibus habui, sed etiam posteris erit clara et insignis. nemo umquam animo aut spe maiora suscipiet qui sibi non illius memoriam atque imaginem proponendam putet.
SECTION 103equidem ex omnibus rebus, quas mihi aut fortuna aut natura tribuit, nihil habeo quod cum amicitia Scipionis possim comparare. in hac mihi de re publica consensus; in hac rerum privatarum consilium, in eadem requies plena oblectationis fuit. numquam illum ne minima quidem re offendi, quod quidem senserim, nihil audivi ex eo ipse quod nollem; una domus erat, idem victus isque communis, neque solum militia, sed etiam peregrinationes rusticationesque communes.
SECTION 104nam quid ego de studiis dicam cognoscendi semper aliquid atque discendi, in quibus remoti ab oculis populi omne otiosum tempus contrivimus? quarum rerum recordatio et memoria si una cum illo occidisset, desiderium coniunctissimi atque amantissimi viri ferre nullo modo possem. sed nec illa exstincta sunt alunturque potius et augentur cogitatione et memoria mea, et, si illis plane orbatus essem, magnum tamen affert mihi aetas ipsa solacium; diutius enim iam in hoc desiderio esse non possum; omnia autem brevia tolerabilia esse debent, etiam si magna sunt.haec habui de amicitia quae dicerem; vos autem hortor ut ita virtutem locetis (sine qua amicitia esse non potest) ut ea excepta nihil amicitia praestabilius putetis.
Mouseia
Mouseia’s complete machine-assisted Musean translation, made directly from all 27 Latin chapters and 104 sections for fidelity, philosophical precision, rhetorical clarity, structure, and cadence.
SECTION 100For even in plays the most foolish character is that of the shortsighted and credulous old man.
But somehow my discourse has drifted away from the friendships of perfect men—that is, of the wise, by which I mean the kind of wisdom that seems attainable by a human being—and descended to the friendships of frivolous men. Let us therefore return to those first principles and at last bring them to a conclusion.
Virtue, I say, Gaius Fannius and you, Quintus Mucius, both creates friendships and preserves them. In virtue there is harmony, in virtue stability, in virtue constancy. When virtue has raised itself up and displayed its light, and has beheld and recognized that same light in another, it draws near to it and in turn receives what is present in the other. From this either love or friendship bursts into flame—for both words are derived from loving. And to love is nothing other than to cherish the very person whom one loves, without any need to be supplied or any advantage to be sought. Yet advantage itself blossoms from friendship, even if you have made little effort to pursue it.
SECTION 101With this affection, when we were young, we loved those old men Lucius Paulus, Marcus Cato, Gaius Gallus, Publius Nasica, and Tiberius Gracchus, the father-in-law of our Scipio. Such affection shines still more brightly among contemporaries, as it did between Scipio and me, Lucius Furius, Publius Rupilius, and Spurius Mummius. In turn, we old men find repose in the affection of the young, as I do in yours and in that of Quintus Tubero. Indeed, I take pleasure even in the close friendship of the very young Publius Rutilius and Aulus Verginius. And since the course of our life and nature is so ordered that one generation succeeds another, the greatest blessing of all is surely to be able to reach the finish line, as the saying goes, together with the contemporaries with whom one was released from the starting barriers.
SECTION 102But since human affairs are frail and fleeting, we must always seek out people whom we may love and by whom we may be loved; for if affection and goodwill are taken away, all delight is taken out of life. To me, indeed, Scipio, though he was suddenly snatched away, still lives and always will live; for I loved the virtue of that man, and that virtue has not been extinguished. It stands not only before my eyes, who always had it close at hand, but will also remain bright and illustrious to generations yet to come. No one will ever undertake great deeds in spirit or in hope without believing that Scipio’s memory and image should be set before him.
SECTION 103Of all the gifts that fortune or nature has bestowed upon me, I have nothing that I can compare with Scipio’s friendship. In it I found agreement concerning the republic; in it counsel concerning my private affairs; in it, too, repose filled with delight. Never, so far as I was aware, did I offend him even in the smallest matter, and never did I myself hear from him anything I did not wish to hear. We shared one house, the same way of life, and a common table; and not only military service, but journeys abroad and stays in the country as well, were shared between us.
SECTION 104And what am I to say of our eager pursuit of always learning and discovering something new, upon which, far from the eyes of the people, we spent all our leisure? If the recollection and memory of those pursuits had died together with him, I could in no way endure my longing for a man so closely bound to me and so deeply loving. But those memories have not been extinguished; rather, they are nourished and increased by my reflection and remembrance. And even if I had been wholly bereft of them, my age itself would nevertheless bring me great consolation; for I cannot now remain much longer in this state of longing, and everything brief ought to be endurable, even if it is severe.
This is what I had to say about friendship. But I urge you to assign virtue such a place that, apart from virtue itself—without which friendship cannot exist—you consider nothing more excellent than friendship.
Mouseia
Mouseia’s complete Plain English edition, made independently and directly from all 27 Latin chapters and 104 sections.
SECTION 100For even in plays, the very most foolish character is the shortsighted and credulous old man.
But somehow my discussion has drifted from the friendships of perfect men—that is, of wise men, though I mean the kind of wisdom that seems attainable by a human being—to shallow friendships. Let us therefore return to those first principles and finally bring the discussion itself to a conclusion.
Virtue, I say, Gaius Fannius and you, Quintus Mucius, both forms and preserves friendships. In virtue there is harmony in all things, stability, and constancy. When virtue has risen to prominence and revealed its own light, and has seen and recognized the same light in another, it draws near to that other virtue and in turn receives what is in the other. From this either love or friendship bursts into flame, for both words are derived from “loving.” To love is nothing other than to cherish the very person whom you love, with no need to be satisfied and no advantage sought. Yet advantage itself blossoms from friendship, even if you have not particularly pursued it.
SECTION 101With this kind of affection, when we were young, we loved those older men Lucius Paulus, Marcus Cato, Gaius Gallus, Publius Nasica, and Tiberius Gracchus, the father-in-law of our Scipio. This affection shines even more brightly among people of the same age, as it did between Scipio and me, Lucius Furius, Publius Rupilius, and Spurius Mummius. In turn, we old men find comfort in the affection of the young, as I do in yours and in that of Quintus Tubero. Indeed, I also take pleasure in my close friendship with the very young Publius Rutilius and Aulus Verginius. And since the course of our life and nature has been arranged so that one generation follows another, it is especially desirable to be able to reach the finish line, as the saying goes, together with the same companions of your own age with whom you were released from the starting gates.
SECTION 102But because human affairs are fragile and fleeting, we must always seek out people whom we may love and by whom we may be loved; for if affection and goodwill are removed, all pleasure is removed from life. As for me, although Scipio was suddenly taken away, he nevertheless lives for me and always will live. For I loved that man’s virtue, and that has not been extinguished. It remains before the eyes not only of me, who always had it close at hand, but it will also be bright and distinguished for later generations. No one will ever undertake great things in spirit or aspiration without thinking that he should set Scipio’s memory and image before himself.
SECTION 103Of all the things that either fortune or nature has given me, I have nothing that I can compare with my friendship with Scipio. In it I found agreement about public affairs; in it, counsel concerning private matters; and in that same friendship, repose filled with delight. I never offended him even in the smallest matter, so far as I was aware, and I myself never heard anything from him that I did not wish to hear. We shared one home, the same way of life, and a common table; and we shared not only military service, but also journeys abroad and stays in the country.
SECTION 104Why should I speak of our constant eagerness to discover and learn something, pursuits in which, away from the public eye, we spent all our leisure time? If the recollection and memory of these things had died together with him, I could not possibly endure my longing for so closely attached and loving a man. But those memories have not been extinguished; instead, they are nourished and strengthened by my thought and remembrance. And even if I had been entirely deprived of them, my age itself nevertheless brings me great comfort, for I cannot now remain in this state of longing much longer. Everything brief ought to be bearable, even if it is great.
This is what I had to say about friendship. I urge you, however, to assign virtue such a high place—for without it friendship cannot exist—that, with virtue alone excepted, you consider nothing more excellent than friendship.