Treatises on Friendship and Old Age

What It's About

This volume brings together two of Cicero's most personal philosophical dialogues, both written in 44 BC, in the year following Julius Caesar's assassination. "On Friendship" (Laelius de Amicitia) is set as a conversation held shortly after the death of the statesman Scipio Aemilianus, in which his close friend Laelius discusses the nature, value, and proper limits of true friendship with his sons-in-law. "On Old Age" (Cato Maior de Senectute) is framed as advice given by the elder statesman Cato, defending old age against the usual complaints made against it and arguing that it can be a period of contentment rather than decline.

Key Concepts

Both dialogues draw on the Greek philosophy Cicero had studied throughout his life, particularly Stoic and Academic thought. "On Friendship" argues that genuine friendship must be grounded in virtue rather than in usefulness or pleasure, and considers when loyalty to a friend should have limits. "On Old Age" answers four common complaints against growing old — that it withdraws a man from active life, weakens the body, removes the capacity for pleasure, and brings a man closer to death — arguing in each case that these are not the burdens they appear to be.

About the Author

Marcus Tullius Cicero was a Roman statesman, lawyer, orator, and philosopher, and is widely regarded as one of the greatest prose stylists in the Latin language. He served as consul of Rome in 63 BC and remained a central, often embattled, figure in the political conflicts of the late Republic until his execution in 43 BC.

About This Edition

This is a 1900 translation by E. S. Shuckburgh.