Book 5, Chapter 22
Original Latin
63 Quantopere vero amicitias desideraret, quarum infidelitatem extimescebat, declaravit in Pythagoriis duobus illis, quorum cum alterum vadem mortis accepisset, alter, ut vadem suum liberaret, praesto fuisset ad horam mortis destinatam, ‘utinam ego’ inquit ‘tertius vobis amicus adscriberer!’ quam huic erat miserum carere consuetudine amicorum, societate victus, sermone omnino familiari, homini praesertim docto a puero et artibus ingenuis erudito, musicorum vero perstudioso; poëtam etiam tragicum—quam bonum, nihil ad rem; in hoc enim genere nescio quo pacto magis quam in aliis suum cuique pulchrum est; adhuc neminem cognovi poëtam (et mihi fuit cum Aquinio amicitia), qui sibi non optumus videretur; sic se res habet: te tua, me delectant mea—sed ut ad Dionysium redeamus: omni cultu et victu humano carebat; vivebat cum fugitivis, cum facinerosis, cum barbaris; neminem, qui aut libertate dignus esset aut vellet omnino liber esse, sibi amicum arbitrabatur.
Musean translation
Complete machine-assisted translation from the Latin. Latin transcription by the Perseus Project, Trustees of Tufts University, CC BY-SA 4.0.
63 “How deeply he longed for friendships, though he dreaded their betrayal, he showed in the case of those two Pythagoreans. He had accepted one as a pledge for the other’s life, and when the other appeared at the appointed hour of death to release his guarantor, he said, ‘If only I could be enrolled as your third friend!’ How wretched it was for him to lack the companionship of friends, the sharing of daily life, any intimate conversation at all—especially since he had been educated from boyhood, trained in the liberal arts, and was passionately devoted to music! He was a tragic poet, too—how good a poet is beside the point. In this art, somehow, more than in the others, everyone finds his own work beautiful. I have yet to meet a poet—and I was a friend of Aquinius—who did not think himself the best. That is the way of it: your work delights you, mine delights me. But to return to Dionysius: he lacked every civilized refinement and way of living. He lived with runaway slaves, criminals, and barbarians; no one who deserved freedom, or who even wished to be free, could be his friend, as he saw it.”
Plain English translation
Complete independent machine-assisted translation directly from the Latin. Latin transcription by the Perseus Project, Trustees of Tufts University, CC BY-SA 4.0.
63 “He was terrified that friends would betray him, but he showed how much he longed for friendship in the case of those two Pythagoreans. He’d accepted one as a guarantee that the other would return to face death. The other arrived at the appointed hour of execution to release his guarantor. ‘If only I could be admitted as your third friend!’ he said. How miserable he must have been without the company of friends, without shared meals, without any intimate conversation at all! Especially since he’d been educated from childhood, trained in the liberal arts, and was passionately interested in music. He was a tragic poet too. How good a poet doesn’t matter here. Somehow people like their own work in this field even more than in others. I’ve never yet met a poet who didn’t think he was the best—and I was friends with Aquinius. That’s just how it is: you enjoy your work, and I enjoy mine. But back to Dionysius. He had no share in a civilized human way of life or human company. He lived with runaway slaves, criminals, and barbarians. He didn’t think anyone who deserved to be free, or even wanted to be free at all, could be his friend.”
About this section
Book 5, Chapter 22 is part of Tusculan Disputations by Marcus Tullius Cicero. This page sets the Latin original beside 2 direct-source translations, so any line can be checked against the source. It is chapter 170 of 189 in the work, which is kept in the Roman tradition.
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