How to Be a Friend: An Ancient Guide to True Friendship Part III

Friendship plays a central role in Stoic philosophy. While the Stoics viewed virtue as the foundation of a flourishing life, they also recognized that meaningful friendships enrich our lives and provide opportunities to practice wisdom, justice, courage, and temperance.

Cicero's essay On Friendship (De Amicitia) raises questions that are still relevant today: What makes a true friend? How many friends should we have? Can friendship exist without virtue? During this session, we will discuss excerpts from the first fifty paragraphs of the book.

We'll explore a number of questions that sit at the heart of the essay. What is the foundation of a friendship, and where does our desire for it come from in the first place? Laelius argues that genuine friendship exists only between good people, so we'll ask what he really means by "good." We'll also consider questions that feel especially modern: what role does self-reliance play in friendships today, should we avoid having too many friends, and how can the friendships we keep help us become better people?

It helps to know the cast of characters behind the essay. The author is Marcus Tullius Cicero, who dedicates the work to his closest friend, Titus Pomponius Atticus. The main speaker is Gaius Laelius, who reflects on his deep bond with his best friend Scipio Aemilianus (Africanus the Younger), the model of ideal friendship throughout the piece. The essay itself unfolds as Laelius responds to questions posed by two younger men, Gaius Fannius and Quintus Mucius Scaevola.

No prior reading is required. We'll provide excerpts during the meeting and discuss them together.
English translations

• Perseus Digital Library (W.A. Falconer translation, with section navigation): https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A2007.01.0041
• Wikisource (free English translation): https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Translation:Laelius_on_Friendship
• Online Library of Liberty (Peabody translation, 1887, with PDF/EPUB options): https://oll.libertyfund.org/titles/cicero-on-friendship-de-amicitia

Latin original

• Wikisource (Latin text): https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Translation:Laelius_on_Friendship

Join us Monday at 7:00–8:30 p.m. Eastern (EDT)
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81155156822?pwd=vQAgqJWAaQDDQJ1JO0Ox0FLsUrEnkE.1
Here’s what that looks like around the world:
United States
Eastern (NY / Orlando) – 7:00–8:30 p.m. Friday
Central – 6:00–7:30 p.m. Friday
Mountain – 5:00–6:30 p.m. Friday
Arizona – 4:00–5:30 p.m. Friday
Pacific – 4:00–5:30 p.m. Friday
Alaska – 3:00–4:30 p.m. Friday
Hawaii – 1:00–2:30 p.m. Friday
South America
São Paulo – 8:00–9:30 p.m. Friday
Buenos Aires – 8:00–9:30 p.m. Friday
Europe & Africa
London – 12:00–1:30 a.m. Saturday
Dublin – 12:00–1:30 a.m. Saturday
Central Europe – 1:00–2:30 a.m. Saturday
South Africa – 1:00–2:30 a.m. Saturday
Middle East & Asia
Dubai – 3:00–4:30 a.m. Saturday
India – 4:30–6:00 a.m. Saturday
Singapore – 7:00–8:30 a.m. Saturday
Philippines – 7:00–8:30 a.m. Saturday
Japan – 8:00–9:30 a.m. Saturday
Australia
Brisbane – 9:00–10:30 a.m. Saturday
Sydney / Melbourne – 9:00–10:30 a.m. Saturday
We’d love to have you join us.