,,treatises ,,on ,,friendship ,,and     
,,old ,,age  ,by ,marcus ,tullius       
,cicero   ,translated by ,e4 ,s4        
,shuckburgh     ,,introductory ,,note   
,,marcus ,,tullius ,,cicero1 the        
greatest of ,roman orators and the chief
 master of ,latin prose style1 was born 
at ,arpinum1 ,jan4 #c1 #ajf ,b4,c4 ,his 
father1 who was a man of property and   
belonged to the class of the ,knights1  
moved to ,rome when ,cicero was a child2
 and the future statesman received an   
elaborate education in rhetoric1 law1   
and philosophy1 studying and practising 
under some of the most noted teachers of
 the time4 ,he began his career as an   
advocate at the age of twenty-five1 and 
almost immediately came to be recognized
 not only as a man of brilliant talents 
but also as a courageous upholder of    
justice in the face of grave political  
danger4 ,after two years of practice he 
left ,rome to travel in ,greece and     
,asia1 taking all the opportunities that
 offered to study his art under         

distinguished masters4 ,he returned to  
,rome greatly improved in health and in 
professional skill1 and in #gf ,b4 ,c4  
was elected to the office of quaestor4  
,he was assigned to the province of     
,lilybaeum in ,sicily1 and the vigor and
 justice of his administration earned   
him the gratitude of the inhabitants4   
,it was at their request that he        
undertook in #gj ,b4 ,c4 the            
,prosecution of ,verres1 who as ,praetor
 had subjected the ,sicilians to        
incredible extortion and oppression2 and
 his successful conduct of this case1   
which ended in the conviction and       
banishment of ,verres1 may be said to   
have launched him on his political      
career4 ,he became aedile in the same   
year1 in #fg ,b4,c4 praetor1 and in #fd 
,b4 ,c4 was elected consul by a large   
majority4 ,the most important event of  
the year of his consulship was the      
conspiracy of ,catiline4 ,this notorious
 criminal of patrician rank had         
conspired with a number of others1 many 

of them young men of high birth but     
dissipated character1 to seize the chief
 offices of the state1 and to extricate 
themselves from the pecuniary and other 
difficulties that had resulted from     
their excesses1 by the wholesale plunder
 of the city4 ,the plot was unmasked by 
the vigilance of ,cicero1 five of the   
traitors were summarily executed1 and in
 the overthrow of the army that had been
 gathered in their support ,catiline    
himself perished4 ,cicero regarded      
himself as the savior of his country1   
and his country for the moment seemed to
 give grateful assent4  ,but reverses   
were at hand4 ,during the existence of  
the political combination of ,pompey1   
,caesar1 and ,crassus1 known as the     
first triumvirate1 ,p4 ,clodius1 an     
enemy of ,cicero's1 proposed a law      
banishing any one who had put ,roman    
citizens to death without trial4 ,this  
was aimed at ,cicero on account of his  
share in the ,catiline affair1 and in   
,march1 #eh ,b4 ,c41 he left ,rome4 ,the

 same day a law was passed by which he  
was banished by name1 and his property  
was plundered and destroyed1 a temple to
 ,liberty being erected on the site of  
his house in the city4 ,during his exile
 ,cicero's manliness to some extent     
deserted him4 ,he drifted from place to 
place1 seeking the protection of        
officials against assassination1 writing
 letters urging his supporters to       
agitate for his recall1 sometimes       
accusing them of lukewarmness and even  
treachery1 bemoaning the ingratitude of 
his country or regretting the course of 
action that had led to his outlawry1 and
 suffering from extreme depression over 
his separation from his wife and        
children and the wreck of his political 
ambitions4 ,finally in ,august1 #eg ,b4 
,c41 the decree for his restoration was 
passed1 and he returned to ,rome the    
next month1 being received with immense 
popular enthusiasm4 ,during the next few
 years the renewal of the understanding 
among the triumvirs shut ,cicero out    

from any leading part in politics1 and  
he resumed his activity in the          
law-courts1 his most important case     
being1 perhaps1 the defence of ,milo for
 the murder of ,clodius1 ,cicero's most 
troublesome enemy4 ,this oration1 in the
 revised form in which it has come down 
to us1 is ranked as among the finest    
specimens of the art of the orator1     
though in its original form it failed to
 secure ,milo's acquittal4 ,meantime1   
,cicero was also devoting much time to  
literary composition1 and his letters   
show great dejection over the political 
situation1 and a somewhat wavering      
attitude towards the various parties in 
the state4 ,in #ee ,b4 ,c4 he went to   
,cilicia in ,asia ,minor as proconsul1  
an office which he administered with    
efficiency and integrity in civil       
affairs and with success in military4   
,he returned to ,italy in the end of the
 following year1 and he was publicly    
thanked by the senate for his services1 
but disappointed in his hopes for a     

triumph4 ,the war for supremacy between 
,caesar and ,pompey which had for some  
time been gradually growing more        
certain1 broke out in #di ,b4,c41 when  
,caesar led his army across the         
,rubicon1 and ,cicero after much        
irresolution threw in his lot with      
,pompey1 who was overthrown the next    
year in the battle of ,pharsalus and    
later murdered in ,egypt4 ,cicero       
returned to ,italy1 where ,caesar       
treated him magnanimously1 and for some 
time he devoted himself to philosophical
 and rhetorical writing4 ,in #df ,b4,c4 
he divorced his wife ,terentia1 to whom 
he had been married for thirty years and
 married the young and wealthy ,publilia
 in order to relieve himself from       
financial difficulties2 but her also he 
shortly divorced4 ,caesar1 who had now  
become supreme in ,rome1 was            
assassinated in #dd ,b4,c41 and though  
,cicero was not a sharer in the         
conspiracy1 he seems to have approved   
the deed4 ,in the confusion which       

followed he supported the cause of the  
conspirators against ,antony2 and when  
finally the triumvirate of ,antony1     
,octavius1 and ,lepidus was established1
 ,cicero was included among the         
proscribed1 and on ,december #g1 #dc    
,b4,c41 he was killed by agents of      
,antony4 ,his head and hand were cut off
 and exhibited at ,rome4  ,the most     
important orations of the last months of
 his life were the fourteen ,philippics 
delivered against ,antony1 and the price
 of this enmity he paid with his life4  
,to his contemporaries ,cicero was      
primarily the great forensic and        
political orator of his time1 and the   
fifty-eight speeches which have come    
down to us bear testimony to the skill1 
wit1 eloquence1 and passion which gave  
him his pre-eminence4 ,but these        
speeches of necessity deal with the     
minute details of the occasions which   
called them forth1 and so require for   
their appreciation a full knowledge of  
the history1 political and personal1 of 

the time4 ,the letters1 on the other    
hand1 are less elaborate both in style  
and in the handling of current events1  
while they serve to reveal his          
personality1 and to throw light upon    
,roman life in the last days of the     
,republic in an extremely vivid fashion4
 ,cicero as a man1 in spite of his      
self-importance1 the vacillation of his 
political conduct in desperate crises1  
and the whining despondency of his times
 of adversity1 stands out as at bottom a
 patriotic ,roman of substantial        
honesty1 who gave his life to check the 
inevitable fall of the commonwealth to  
which he was devoted4 ,the evils which  
were undermining the ,republic bear so  
many striking resemblances to those     
which threaten the civic and national   
life of ,america to-day that the        
interest of the period is by no means   
merely historical4  ,as a philosopher1  
,cicero's most important function was to
 make his countrymen familiar with the  
main schools of ,greek thought4 ,much of

 this writing is thus of secondary      
interest to us in comparison with his   
originals1 but in the fields of         
religious theory and of the application 
of philosophy to life he made important 
first-hand contributions4 ,from these   
works have been selected the two        
treatises1 on ,old ,age and on          
,friendship1 which have proved of most  
permanent and widespread interest to    
posterity1 and which give a clear       
impression of the way in which a        
high-minded ,roman thought about some of
 the main problems of human life4       
,,on ,,friendship   ,,the augur ,quintus
 ,mucius ,scaevola used to recount a    
number of stories about his             
father-in-law ,galus ,laelius1          
accurately remembered and charmingly    
told2 and whenever he talked about him  
always gave him the title of the wise   
without any hesitation4 ,i had been     
introduced by my father to ,scaevola as 
soon as ,i had assumed the toga virilis1
 and ,i took advantage of the           

introduction never to quit the venerable
 man's side as long as ,i was able to   
stay and he was spared to us4 ,the      
consequence was that ,i committed to    
memory many disquisitions of his1 as    
well as many short pointed apophthegms1 
and1 in short1 took as much advantage of
 his wisdom as ,i could4 ,when he died1 
,i attached myself to ,scaevola the     
,pontifex1 whom ,i may venture to call  
quite the most distinguished of our     
countrymen for ability and uprightness4 
,but of this latter ,i shall take other 
occasions to speak4 ,to return to       
,scaevola the augur4 ,among many other  
occasions ,i particularly remember one4 
,he was sitting on a semicircular       
garden-bench1 as was his custom1 when ,i
 and a very few intimate friends were   
there1 and he chanced to turn the       
conversation upon a subject which about 
that time was in many people's mouths4  
,you must remember1 ,atticus1 for you   
were very intimate with ,publius        
,sulpicius1 what expressions of         

astonishment1 or even indignation1 were 
called forth by his mortal quarrel1 as  
tribune1 with the consul ,quintus       
,pompeius1 with whom he had formerly    
lived on terms of the closest intimacy  
and affection4 ,well1 on this occasion1 
happening to mention this particular    
circumstance1 ,scaevola detailed to us a
 discourse of ,laelius on friendship    
delivered to himself and ,laelius's     
other son-in-law ,galus ,fannius1 son of
 ,marcus ,fannius1 a few days after the 
death of ,africanus4 ,the points of that
 discussion ,i committed to memory1 and 
have arranged them in this book at my   
own discretion4 ,for ,i have brought the
 speakers1 as it were1 personally on to 
my stage to prevent the constant said ,i
 and said he of a narrative1 and to give
 the discourse the air of being orally  
delivered in our hearing4  ,you have    
often urged me to write something on    
,friendship1 and ,i quite acknowledged  
that the subject seemed one worth       
everybody's investigation1 and specially

 suited to the close intimacy that has  
existed between you and me4 ,accordingly
 ,i was quite ready to benefit the      
public at your request4  ,as to the     
dramatis personae4 ,in the treatise on  
,old ,age1 which ,i dedicated to you1 ,i
 introduced ,cato as chief speaker4 ,no 
one1 ,i thought1 could with greater     
propriety speak on old age than one who 
had been an old man longer than any one 
else1 and had been exceptionally        
vigorous in his old age4 ,similarly1    
having learnt from tradition that of all
 friendships that between ,gaius        
,laelius and ,publius ,scipio was the   
most remarkable1 ,i thought ,laelius was
 just the person to support the chief   
part in a discussion on friendship which
 ,scaevola remembered him to have       
actually taken4 ,moreover1 a discussion 
of this sort gains somehow in weight    
from the authority of men of ancient    
days1 especially if they happen to have 
been distinguished4 ,so it comes about  
that in reading over what ,i have myself

 written ,i have a feeling at times that
 it is actually ,cato that is speaking1 
not ,i4  ,finally1 as ,i sent the former
 essay to you as a gift from one old man
 to another1 so ,i have dedicated this  
,on ,friendship as a most affectionate  
friend to his friend4 ,in the former    
,cato spoke1 who was the oldest and     
wisest man of his day2 in this ,laelius 
speaks on friendship--,laelius1 who was 
at once a wise man 7that was the title  
given him7 and eminent for his famous   
friendship4 ,please forget me for a     
while2 imagine ,laelius to be speaking4 
,gaius ,fannius and ,quintus ,mucius    
come to call on their father-in-law     
after the death of ,africanus4 ,they    
start the subject2 ,laelius answers     
them4 ,and the whole essay on friendship
 is his4 ,in reading it you will        
recognise a picture of yourself4  #b4   
,fannius4 ,you are quite right1         
,laelius6 there never was a better or   
more illustrious character than         
,africanus4 ,but you should consider    

that at the present moment all eyes are 
on you4 ,everybody calls you the wise   
par excellence1 and thinks you so4 ,the 
same mark of respect was lately paid    
,cato1 and we know that in the last     
generation ,lucius ,atilius was called  
the wise4 ,but in both cases the word   
was applied with a certain difference4  
,atilius was so called from his         
reputation as a jurist2 ,cato got the   
name as a kind of honorary title and in 
extreme old age because of his varied   
experience of affairs1 and his          
reputation for foresight and firmness1  
and the sagacity of the opinions which  
he delivered in senate and forum4 ,you1 
however1 are regarded as wise in a      
somewhat different sense not alone on   
account of natural ability and          
character1 but also from your industry  
and learning2 and not in the sense in   
which the vulgar1 but that in which     
scholars1 give that title4 ,in this     
sense we do not read of any one being   
called wise in ,greece except one man at

 ,athens2 and he1 to be sure1 had been  
declared by the oracle of ,apollo also  
to be the supremely wise man4 ,for those
 who commonly go by the name of the     
,seven ,sages are not admitted into the 
category of the wise by fastidious      
critics4 ,your wisdom people believe to 
consist in this1 that you look upon     
yourself as self-sufficing and regard   
the changes and chances of mortal life  
as powerless to affect your virtue4     
,accordingly they are always asking me1 
and doubtless also our ,scaevola here1  
how you bear the death of ,africanus4   
,this curiosity has been the more       
excited from the fact that on the ,nones
 of this month1 when we augurs met as   
usual in the suburban villa of ,decimus 
,brutus for consultation1 you were not  
present1 though it had always been your 
habit to keep that appointment and      
perform that duty with the utmost       
punctuality4  ,scaevola4 ,yes1 indeed1  
,laelius1 ,i am often asked the question
 mentioned by ,fannius4 ,but ,i answer  

in accordance with what ,i have         
observed3 ,i say that you bear in a     
reasonable manner the grief which you   
have sustained in the death of one who  
was at once a man of the most           
illustrious character and a very dear   
friend4 ,that of course you could not   
but be affected--anything else would    
have been wholly unnatural in a man of  
your gentle nature--but that the cause  
of your non-attendance at our college   
meeting was illness1 not melancholy4    
,laelius4 ,thanks1 ,scaevola6 ,you are  
quite right2 you spoke the exact truth4 
,for in fact ,i had no right to allow   
myself to be withdrawn from a duty which
 ,i had regularly performed1 as long as 
,i was well1 by any personal misfortune2
 nor do ,i think that anything that can 
happen will cause a man of principle to 
intermit a duty4 ,as for your telling   
me1 ,fannius1 of the honourable         
appellation given me 7an appellation to 
which ,i do not recognise my title1 and 
to which ,i make no claim71 you         

doubtless act from feelings of          
affection2 but ,i must say that you seem
 to me to do less than justice to ,cato4
 ,if any one was ever wise1--of which ,i
 have my doubts1--he was4 ,putting aside
 everything else1 consider how he bore  
his son's death6 ,i had not forgotten   
,paulus2 ,i had seen with my own eyes   
,gallus4 ,but they lost their sons when 
mere children2 ,cato his when he was a  
full-grown man with an assured          
reputation4 ,do not therefore be in a   
hurry to reckon as ,cato's superior even
 that same famous personage whom        
,apollo1 as you say1 declared to be the 
wisest4 ,remember the former's          
reputation rests on deeds1 the latter's 
on words4  #c4 ,now1 as far as ,i am    
concerned 7,i speak to both of you now71
 believe me the case stands thus4 ,if ,i
 were to say that ,i am not affected by 
regret for ,scipio1 ,i must leave the   
philosophers to justify my conduct1 but 
in point of fact ,i should be telling a 
lie4 ,affected of course ,i am by the   

loss of a friend as ,i think there will 
never be again1 such as ,i can          
fearlessly say there never was before4  
,but ,i stand in no need of medicine4 ,i
 can find my own consolation1 and it    
consists chiefly in my being free from  
the mistaken notion which generally     
causes pain at the departure of friends4
 ,to ,scipio ,i am convinced no evil has
 befallen3 mine is the disaster1 if     
disaster there be2 and to be severely   
distressed at one's own misfortunes does
 not show that you love your friend1 but
 that you love yourself4  ,as for him1  
who can say that all is not more than   
well8 ,for1 unless he had taken the     
fancy to wish for immortality1 the last 
thing of which he ever thought1 what is 
there for which mortal man may wish that
 he did not attain8 ,in his early       
manhood he more than justified by       
extraordinary personal courage the hopes
 which his fellow-citizens had conceived
 of him as a child4 ,he never was a     
candidate for the consulship1 yet was   

elected consul twice3 the first time    
before the legal age2 the second at a   
time which1 as far as he was concerned1 
was soon enough1 but was near being too 
late for the interests of the ,state4   
,by the overthrow of two cities which   
were the most bitter enemies of our     
,empire1 he put an end not only to the  
wars then raging1 but also to the       
possibility of others in the future4    
,what need to mention the exquisite     
grace of his manners1 his dutiful       
devotion to his mother1 his generosity  
to his sisters1 his liberality to his   
relations1 the integrity of his conduct 
to every one8 ,you know all this        
already4 ,finally1 the estimation in    
which his fellow-citizens held him has  
been shown by the signs of mourning     
which accompanied his obsequies4 ,what  
could such a man have gained by the     
addition of a few years8 ,though age    
need not be a burden1--as ,i remember   
,cato arguing in the presence of myself 
and ,scipio two years before he         

died1--yet it cannot but take away the  
vigour and freshness which ,scipio was  
still enjoying4 ,we may conclude        
therefore that his life1 from the good  
fortune which had attended him and the  
glory he had obtained1 was so           
circumstanced that it could not be      
bettered1 while the suddenness of his   
death saved him the sensation of dying4 
,as to the manner of his death it is    
difficult to speak2 you see what people 
suspect4 ,thus much1 however1 ,i may    
say3 ,scipio in his lifetime saw many   
days of supreme triumph and exultation1 
but none more magnificent than his last1
 on which1 upon the rising of the       
,senate1 he was escorted by the senators
 and the people of ,rome1 by the allies1
 and by the ,latins1 to his own door4   
,from such an elevation of popular      
esteem the next step seems naturally to 
be an ascent to the gods above1 rather  
than a descent to ,hades4  #d4 ,for ,i  
am not one of these modern philosophers 
who maintain that our souls perish with 

our bodies1 and that death ends all4    
,with me ancient opinion has more       
weight3 whether it be that of our own   
ancestors1 who attributed such solemn   
observances to the dead1 as they plainly
 would not have done if they had        
believed them to be wholly annihilated2 
or that of the philosophers who once    
visited this country1 and who by their  
maxims and doctrines educated ,magna    
,graecia1 which at that time was in a   
flourishing condition1 though it has now
 been ruined2 or that of the man who was
 declared by ,apollo's oracle to be most
 wise1 and who used to teach without the
 variation which is to be found in most 
philosophers that the souls of men are  
divine1 and that when they have quitted 
the body a return to heaven is open to  
them1 least difficult to those who have 
been most virtuous and just4 ,this      
opinion was shared by ,scipio4 ,only a  
few days before his death--as though he 
had a presentiment of what was          
coming--he discoursed for three days on 

the state of the republic4 ,the company 
consisted of ,philus and ,manlius and   
several others1 and ,i had brought you1 
,scaevola1 along with me4 ,the last part
 of his discourse referred principally  
to the immortality of the soul2 for he  
told us what he had heard from the elder
 ,africanus in a dream4 ,now if it be   
true that in proportion to a man's      
goodness the escape from what may be    
called the prison and bonds of the flesh
 is easiest1 whom can we imagine to have
 had an easier voyage to the gods than  
,scipio8 ,i am disposed to think1       
therefore1 that in his case mourning    
would be a sign of envy rather than of  
friendship4 ,if1 however1 the truth     
rather is that the body and soul perish 
together1 and that no sensation remains1
 then though there is nothing good in   
death1 at least there is nothing bad4   
,remove sensation1 and a man is exactly 
as though he had never been born2 and   
yet that this man was born is a joy to  
me1 and will be a subject of rejoicing  

to this ,state to its last hour4        
,wherefore1 as ,i said before1 all is as
 well as possible with him4 ,not so with
 me2 for as ,i entered life before him1 
it would have been fairer for me to     
leave it also before him4 ,yet such is  
the pleasure ,i take in recalling our   
friendship1 that ,i look upon my life as
 having been a happy one because ,i have
 spent it with ,scipio4 ,with him ,i was
 associated in public and private       
business2 with him ,i lived in ,rome and
 served abroad2 and between us there was
 the most complete harmony in our       
tastes1 our pursuits1 and our           
sentiments1 which is the true secret of 
friendship4 ,it is not therefore in that
 reputation for wisdom mentioned just   
now by ,fannius--especially as it       
happens to be groundless--that ,i find  
my happiness so much1 as in the hope    
that the memory of our friendship will  
be lasting4 ,what makes me care the more
 about this is the fact that in all     
history there are scarcely three or four

 pairs of friends on record2 and it is  
classed with them that ,i cherish a hope
 of the friendship of ,scipio and       
,laelius being known to posterity4      
,fannius4 ,of course that must be so1   
,laelius4 ,but since you have mentioned 
the word friendship1 and we are at      
leisure1 you would be doing me a great  
kindness1 and ,i expect ,scaevola also1 
if you would do as it is your habit to  
do when asked questions on other        
subjects1 and tell us your sentiments   
about friendship1 its nature1 and the   
rules to be observed in regard to it4   
,scaevola4 ,i shall of course be        
delighted4 ,fannius has anticipated the 
very request ,i was about to make4 ,so  
you will be doing us both a great       
favour4  #e4 ,laelius4 ,i should        
certainly have no objection if ,i felt  
confidence in myself4 ,for the theme is 
a noble one1 and we are 7as ,fannius has
 said7 at leisure4 ,but who am ,i8 and  
what ability have ,i8 ,what you propose 
is all very well for professional       

philosophers1 who are used1 particularly
 if ,greeks1 to have the subject for    
discussion proposed to them on the spur 
of the moment4 ,it is a task of         
considerable difficulty1 and requires no
 little practice4 ,therefore for a set  
discourse on friendship you must go1 ,i 
think1 to professional lecturers4 ,all  
,i can do is to urge on you to regard   
friendship as the greatest thing in the 
world2 for there is nothing which so    
fits in with our nature1 or is so       
exactly what we want in prosperity or   
adversity4  ,but ,i must at the very    
beginning lay down this                 
principle--friendship can only exist    
between good men4 ,i do not1 however1   
press this too closely1 like the        
philosophers who push their definitions 
to a superfluous accuracy4 ,they have   
truth on their side1 perhaps1 but it is 
of no practical advantage4 ,those1 ,i   
mean1 who say that no one but the wise  
is good4 ,granted1 by all means4 ,but   
the wisdom they mean is one to which no 

mortal ever yet attained4 ,we must      
concern ourselves with the facts of     
everyday life as we find it--not        
imaginary and ideal perfections4 ,even  
,gaius ,fannius1 ,manius ,curius1 and   
,tiberius ,coruncanius1 whom our        
ancestors decided to be wise1 ,i could  
never declare to be so according to     
their standard4 ,let them1 then1 keep   
this word wisdom to themselves4         
,everybody is irritated by it2 no one   
understands what it means4 ,let them but
 grant that the men ,i mentioned were   
good4 ,no1 they won't do that either4   
,no one but the wise can be allowed that
 title1 say they4 ,well1 then1 let us   
dismiss them and manage as best we may  
with our own poor mother wit1 as the    
phrase is4  ,we mean then by the good   
those whose actions and lives leave no  
question as to their honour1 purity1    
equity1 and liberality2 who are free    
from greed1 lust1 and violence2 and who 
have the courage of their convictions4  
,the men ,i have just named may serve as

 examples4 ,such men as these being     
generally accounted good1 let us agree  
to call them so1 on the ground that to  
the best of human ability they follow   
nature as the most perfect guide to a   
good life4  ,now this truth seems clear 
to me1 that nature has so formed us that
 a certain tie unites us all1 but that  
this tie becomes stronger from          
proximity4 ,so it is that               
fellow-citizens are preferred in our    
affections to foreigners1 relations to  
strangers2 for in their case ,nature    
herself has caused a kind of friendship 
to exist1 though it is one which lacks  
some of the elements of permanence4     
,friendship excels relationship in this1
 that whereas you may eliminate         
affection from relationship1 you cannot 
do so from friendship4 ,without it      
relationship still exists in name1      
friendship does not4 ,you may best      
understand this friendship by           
considering that1 whereas the merely    
natural ties uniting the human race are 

indefinite1 this one is so concentrated1
 and confined to so narrow a sphere1    
that affection is ever shared by two    
persons only or at most by a few4  #f4  
,now friendship may be thus defined3 a  
complete accord on all subjects human   
and divine1 joined with mutual goodwill 
and affection4 ,and with the exception  
of wisdom1 ,i am inclined to think      
nothing better than this has been given 
to man by the immortal gods4 ,there are 
people who give the palm to riches or to
 good health1 or to power and office1   
many even to sensual pleasures4 ,this   
last is the ideal of brute beasts2 and  
of the others we may say that they are  
frail and uncertain1 and depend less on 
our own prudence than on the caprice of 
fortune4 ,then there are those who find 
the chief good in virtue4 ,well1 that is
 a noble doctrine4 ,but the very virtue 
they talk of is the parent and preserver
 of friendship1 and without it          
friendship cannot possibly exist4  ,let 
us1 ,i repeat1 use the word virtue in   

the ordinary acceptation and meaning of 
the term1 and do not let us define it in
 high-flown language4 ,let us account as
 good the persons usually considered so1
 such as ,paulus1 ,cato1 ,gallus1       
,scipio1 and ,philus4 ,such men as these
 are good enough for everyday life2 and 
we need not trouble ourselves about     
those ideal characters which are nowhere
 to be met with4  ,well1 between men    
like these the advantages of friendship 
are almost more than ,i can say4 ,to    
begin with1 how can life be worth       
living1 to use the words of ,ennius1    
which lacks that repose which is to be  
found in the mutual good-will of a      
friend8 ,what can be more delightful    
than to have some one to whom you can   
say everything with the same absolute   
confidence as to yourself8 ,is not      
prosperity robbed of half its value if  
you have no one to share your joy8 ,on  
the other hand1 misfortunes would be    
hard to bear if there were not some one 
to feel them even more acutely than     

yourself4 ,in a word1 other objects of  
ambition serve for particular           
ends--riches for use1 power for securing
 homage1 office for reputation1 pleasure
 for enjoyment1 health for freedom from 
pain and the full use of the functions  
of the body4 ,but friendship embraces   
innumerable advantages4 ,turn which way 
you please1 you will find it at hand4   
,it is everywhere2 and yet never out of 
place1 never unwelcome4 ,fire and water 
themselves1 to use a common expression1 
are not of more universal use than      
friendship4 ,i am not now speaking of   
the common or modified form of it1      
though even that is a source of pleasure
 and profit1 but of that true and       
complete friendship which existed       
between the select few who are known to 
fame4 ,such friendship enhances         
prosperity1 and relieves adversity of   
its burden by halving and sharing it4   
#g4 ,and great and numerous as are the  
blessings of friendship1 this certainly 
is the sovereign one1 that it gives us  

bright hopes for the future and forbids 
weakness and despair4 ,in the face of a 
true friend a man sees as it were a     
second self4 ,so that where his friend  
is he is2 if his friend be rich1 he is  
not poor2 though he be weak1 his        
friend's strength is his2 and in his    
friend's life he enjoys a second life   
after his own is finished4 ,this last is
 perhaps the most difficult to conceive4
 ,but such is the effect of the respect1
 the loving remembrance1 and the regret 
of friends which follow us to the grave4
 ,while they take the sting out of      
death1 they add a glory to the life of  
the survivors4 ,nay1 if you eliminate   
from nature the tie of affection1 there 
will be an end of house and city1 nor   
will so much as the cultivation of the  
soil be left4 ,if you don't see the     
virtue of friendship and harmony1 you   
may learn it by observing the effects of
 quarrels and feuds4 ,was any family    
ever so well established1 any ,state so 
firmly settled1 as to be beyond the     

reach of utter destruction from         
animosities and factions8 ,this may     
teach you the immense advantage of      
friendship4  ,they say that a certain   
philosopher of ,agrigentum1 in a ,greek 
poem1 pronounced with the authority of  
an oracle the doctrine that whatever in 
nature and the universe was unchangeable
 was so in virtue of the binding force  
of friendship2 whatever was changeable  
was so by the solvent power of discord4 
,and indeed this is a truth which       
everybody understands and practically   
attests by experience4 ,for if any      
marked instance of loyal friendship in  
confronting or sharing danger comes to  
light1 every one applauds it to the     
echo4 ,what cheers there were1 for      
instance1 all over the theatre at a     
passage in the new play of my friend and
 guest ,pacuvius2 where the king1 not   
knowing which of the two was ,orestes1  
,pylades declared himself to be         
,orestes1 that he might die in his      
stead1 while the real ,orestes kept on  

asserting that it was he4 ,the audience 
rose en masse and clapped their hands4  
,and this was at an incident in fiction3
 what would they have done1 must we     
suppose1 if it had been in real life8   
,you can easily see what a natural      
feeling it is1 when men who would not   
have had the resolution to act thus     
themselves1 shewed how right they       
thought it in another4  ,i don't think  
,i have any more to say about           
friendship4 ,if there is any more1 and  
,i have no doubt there is much1 you     
must1 if you care to do so1 consult     
those who profess to discuss such       
matters4  ,fannius4 ,we would rather    
apply to you4 ,yet ,i have often        
consulted such persons1 and have heard  
what they had to say with a certain     
satisfaction4 ,but in your discourse one
 somehow feels that there is a different
 strain4  ,scaevola4 ,you would have    
said that still more1 ,fannius1 if you  
had been present the other day in       
,scipio's pleasure-grounds when we had  

the discussion about the ,state4 ,how   
splendidly he stood up for justice      
against ,philus's elaborate speech4     
,fannius4 ,ah6 it was naturally easy for
 the justest of men to stand up for     
justice4  ,scaevola4 ,well1 then1 what  
about friendship8 ,who could discourse  
on it more easily than the man whose    
chief glory is a friendship maintained  
with the most absolute fidelity1        
constancy1 and integrity8  #h4 ,laclius4
 ,now you are really using force4 ,it   
makes no difference what kind of force  
you use3 force it is4 ,for it is neither
 easy nor right to refuse a wish of my  
sons-in-law1 particularly when the wish 
is a creditable one in itself4  ,well1  
then1 it has very often occurred to me  
when thinking about friendship1 that the
 chief point to be considered was this3 
is it weakness and want of means that   
make friendship desired8 ,i mean1 is its
 object an interchange of good offices1 
so that each may give that in which he  
is strong1 and receive that in which he 

is weak8 ,or is it not rather true that1
 although this is an advantage naturally
 belonging to friendship1 yet its       
original cause is quite other1 prior in 
time1 more noble in character1 and      
springing more directly from our nature 
itself8 ,the ,latin word for            
friendship--amicitia--is derived from   
that for love--amor2 and love is        
certainly the prime mover in contracting
 mutual affection4 ,for as to material  
advantages1 it often happens that those 
are obtained even by men who are courted
 by a mere show of friendship and       
treated with respect from interested    
motives4 ,but friendship by its nature  
admits of no feigning1 no pretence3 as  
far as it goes it is both genuine and   
spontaneous4 ,therefore ,i gather that  
friendship springs from a natural       
impulse rather than a wish for help3    
from an inclination of the heart1       
combined with a certain instinctive     
feeling of love1 rather than from a     
deliberate calculation of the material  

advantage it was likely to confer4 ,the 
strength of this feeling you may notice 
in certain animals4 ,they show such love
 to their offspring for a certain       
period1 and are so beloved by them1 that
 they clearly have a share in this      
natural1 instinctive affection4 ,but of 
course it is more evident in the case of
 man3 first1 in the natural affection   
between children and their parents1 an  
affection which only shocking wickedness
 can sunder2 and next1 when the passion 
of love has attained to a like          
strength--on our finding1 that is1 some 
one person with whose character and     
nature we are in full sympathy1 because 
we think that we perceive in him what ,i
 may call the beacon-light of virtue4   
,for nothing inspires love1 nothing     
conciliates affection1 like virtue4     
,why1 in a certain sense we may be said 
to feel affection even for men we have  
never seen1 owing to their honesty and  
virtue4 ,who1 for instance1 fails to    
dwell on the memory of ,gaius ,fabricius

 and ,manius ,curius with some affection
 and warmth of feeling1 though he has   
never seen them8 ,or who but loathes    
,tarquinius ,superbus1 ,spurius         
,cassius1 ,spurius ,maelius8 ,we have   
fought for empire in ,italy with two    
great generals1 ,pyrrhus and ,hannibal4 
,for the former1 owing to his probity1  
we entertain no great feelings of       
enmity3 the latter1 owing to his        
cruelty1 our country has detested and   
always will detest4  #i4 ,now1 if the   
attraction of probity is so great that  
we can love it not only in those whom we
 have never seen1 but1 what is more1    
actually in an enemy1 we need not be    
surprised if men's affections are roused
 when they fancy that they have seen    
virtue and goodness in those with whom a
 close intimacy is possible4 ,i do not  
deny that affection is strengthened by  
the actual receipt of benefits1 as well 
as by the perception of a wish to render
 service1 combined with a closer        
intercourse4 ,when these are added to   

the original impulse of the heart1 to   
which ,i have alluded1 a quite          
surprising warmth of feeling springs up4
 ,and if any one thinks that this comes 
from a sense of weakness1 that each may 
have some one to help him to his        
particular need1 all ,i can say is that1
 when he maintains it to be born of want
 and poverty1 he allows to friendship an
 origin very base1 and a pedigree1 if ,i
 may be allowed the expression1 far from
 noble4 ,if this had been the case1 a   
man's inclination to friendship would be
 exactly in proportion to his low       
opinion of his own resources4 ,whereas  
the truth is quite the other way4 ,for  
when a man's confidence in himself is   
greatest1 when he is so fortified by    
virtue and wisdom as to want nothing and
 to feel absolutely self-dependent1 it  
is then that he is most conspicuous for 
seeking out and keeping up friendships4 
,did ,africanus1 for example1 want      
anything of me8 ,not the least in the   
world6 ,neither did ,i of him4 ,in my   

case it was an admiration of his virtue1
 in his an opinion1 may be1 which he    
entertained of my character1 that caused
 our affection4 ,closer intimacy added  
to the warmth of our feelings4 ,but     
though many great material advantages   
did ensue1 they were not the source from
 which our affection proceeded4 ,for as 
we are not beneficent and liberal with  
any view of extorting gratitude1 and do 
not regard an act of kindness as an     
investment1 but follow a natural        
inclination to liberality2 so we look on
 friendship as worth trying for1 not    
because we are attracted to it by the   
expectation of ulterior gain1 but in the
 conviction that what it has to give us 
is from first to last included in the   
feeling itself4  ,far different is the  
view of those who1 like brute beasts1   
refer everything to sensual pleasure4   
,and no wonder4 ,men who have degraded  
all their powers of thought to an object
 so mean and contemptible can of course 
raise their eyes to nothing lofty1 to   

nothing grand and divine4 ,such persons 
indeed let us leave out of the present  
question4 ,and let us accept the        
doctrine that the sensation of love and 
the warmth of inclination have their    
origin in a spontaneous feeling which   
arises directly the presence of probity 
is indicated4 ,when once men have       
conceived the inclination1 they of      
course try to attach themselves to the  
object of it1 and move themselves nearer
 and nearer to him4 ,their aim is that  
they may be on the same footing and the 
same level in regard to affection1 and  
be more inclined to do a good service   
than to ask a return1 and that there    
should be this noble rivalry between    
them4 ,thus both truths will be         
established4 ,we shall get the most     
important material advantages from      
friendship2 and its origin from a       
natural impulse rather than from a sense
 of need will be at once more dignified 
and more in accordance with fact4 ,for  
if it were true that its material       

advantages cemented friendship1 it would
 be equally true that any change in them
 would dissolve it4 ,but nature being   
incapable of change1 it follows that    
genuine friendships are eternal4  ,so   
much for the origin of friendship4 ,but 
perhaps you would not care to hear any  
more4  ,fannius4 ,nay1 pray go on2 let  
us have the rest1 ,laelius4 ,i take on  
myself to speak for my friend here as   
his senior4  ,scaevola4 ,quite right6   
,therefore1 pray let us hear4  #aj4     
,loelius4 ,well1 then1 my good friends1 
listen to some conversations about      
friendship which very frequently passed 
between ,scipio and myself4 ,i must     
begin by telling you1 however1 that he  
used to say that the most difficult     
thing in the world was for a friendship 
to remain unimpaired to the end of life4
 ,so many things might intervene3       
conflicting interests2 differences of   
opinion in politics2 frequent changes in
 character1 owing sometimes to          
misfortunes1 sometimes to advancing     

years4 ,he used to illustrate these     
facts from the analogy of boyhood1 since
 the warmest affections between boys are
 often laid aside with the boyish toga2 
and even if they did manage to keep them
 up to adolescence1 they were sometimes 
broken by a rivalry in courtship1 or for
 some other advantage to which their    
mutual claims were not compatible4 ,even
 if the friendship was prolonged beyond 
that time1 yet it frequently received a 
rude shock should the two happen to be  
competitors for office4 ,for while the  
most fatal blow to friendship in the    
majority of cases was the lust of gold1 
in the case of the best men it was a    
rivalry for office and reputation1 by   
which it had often happened that the    
most violent enmity had arisen between  
the closest friends4  ,again1 wide      
breaches and1 for the most part1        
justifiable ones were caused by an      
immoral request being made of friends1  
to pander to a man's unholy desires or  
to assist him in inflicting a wrong4 ,a 

refusal1 though perfectly right1 is     
attacked by those to whom they refuse   
compliance as a violation of the laws of
 friendship4 ,now the people who have no
 scruples as to the requests they make  
to their friends1 thereby allow that    
they are ready to have no scruples as to
 what they will do for their friends2   
and it is the recriminations of such    
people which commonly not only quench   
friendships1 but give rise to lasting   
enmities4 ,in fact1 he used to say1     
these fatalities overhang friendship in 
such numbers that it requires not only  
wisdom but good luck also to escape them
 all4  #aa4 ,with these premises1 then1 
let us first1 if you please1 examine the
 question--how far ought personal       
feeling to go in friendship8 ,for       
instance3 suppose ,coriolanus to have   
had friends1 ought they to have joined  
him in invading his country8 ,again1 in 
the case of ,vecellinus or ,spurius     
,maelius1 ought their friends to have   
assisted them in their attempt to       

establish a tyranny8 ,take two instances
 of either line of conduct4 ,when       
,tiberius ,gracchus attempted his       
revolutionary measures he was deserted1 
as we saw1 by ,quintus ,tubero and the  
friends of his own standing4 ,on the    
other hand1 a friend of your own family1
 ,scaevola1 ,gaius ,blossius of ,cumae1 
took a different course4 ,i was acting  
as assessor to the consuls ,laenas and  
,rupilius to try the conspirators1 and  
,blossius pleaded for my pardon on the  
ground that his regard for ,tiberius    
,gracchus had been so high that he      
looked upon his wishes as law4 ,even if 
he had wished you to set fire to the    
,capitol8 said ,i4 ,that is a thing1 he 
replied1 that he never would have       
wished4 ,ah1 but if he had wished it8   
said ,i4 ,i would have obeyed4 ,the     
wickedness of such a speech needs no    
comment4 ,and in point of fact he was as
 good and better than his word for he   
did not wait for orders in the audacious
 proceedings of ,tiberius ,gracchus1 but

 was the head and front of them1 and was
 a leader rather than an abettor of his 
madness4 ,the result of his infatuation 
was that he fled to ,asia1 terrified by 
the special commission appointed to try 
him1 joined the enemies of his country1 
and paid a penalty to the republic as   
heavy as it was deserved4 ,i conclude1  
then1 that the plea of having acted in  
the interests of a friend is not a valid
 excuse for a wrong action4 ,for1 seeing
 that a belief in a man's virtue is the 
original cause of friendship1 friendship
 can hardly remain if virtue he         
abandoned4 ,but if we decide it to be   
right to grant our friends whatever they
 wish1 and to ask them for whatever we  
wish1 perfect wisdom must be assumed on 
both sides if no mischief is to happen4 
,but we cannot assume this perfect      
wisdom2 for we are speaking only of such
 friends as are ordinarily to be met    
with1 whether we have actually seen them
 or have been told about them--men1 that
 is to say1 of everyday life4 ,i must   

quote some examples of such persons1    
taking care to select such as approach  
nearest to our standard of wisdom4 ,we  
read1 for instance1 that ,papus         
,aemilius was a close friend of ,gaius  
,luscinus4 ,history tells us that they  
were twice consuls together1 and        
colleagues in the censorship4 ,again1 it
 is on record that ,manius ,curius and  
,tiberius ,coruncanius were on the most 
intimate terms with them and with each  
other4 ,now1 we cannot even suspect that
 any one of these men ever asked of his 
friend anything that militated against  
his honour or his oath or the interests 
of the republic4 ,in the case of such   
men as these there is no point in saying
 that one of them would not have        
obtained such a request if he had made  
it2 for they were men of the most       
scrupulous piety1 and the making of such
 a request would involve a breach of    
religious obligation no less than the   
granting it4 ,however1 it is quite true 
that ,gaius ,carbo and ,gaius ,cato did 

follow ,tiberius ,gracchus2 and though  
his brother ,caius ,gracchus did not do 
so at the time1 he is now the most eager
 of them all4  #ab4 ,we may then lay    
down this rule of friendship--neither   
ask nor consent to do what is wrong4    
,for the plea for friendship's sake is a
 discreditable one1 and not to be       
admitted for a moment4 ,this rule holds 
good for all wrong-doing1 but more      
especially in such as involves          
disloyalty to the republic4 ,for things 
have come to such a point with us1 my   
dear ,fannius and ,scaevola1 that we are
 bound to look somewhat far ahead to    
what is likely to happen to the         
republic4 ,the constitution1 as known to
 our ancestors1 has already swerved     
somewhat from the regular course and the
 lines marked out for it4 ,tiberius     
,gracchus made an attempt to obtain the 
power of a king1 or1 ,i might rather    
say1 enjoyed that power for a few       
months4 ,had the ,roman people ever     
heard or seen the like before8 ,what the

 friends and connexions that followed   
him1 even after his death1 have         
succeeded in doing in the case of       
,publius ,scipio ,i cannot describe     
without tears4 ,as for ,carbo1 thanks to
 the punishment recently inflicted on   
,tiberius ,gracchus1 we have by hook or 
by crook managed to hold out against his
 attacks4 ,but what to expect of the    
tribuneship of ,caius ,gracchus ,i do   
not like to forecast4 ,one thing leads  
to another2 and once set going1 the     
downward course proceeds with           
ever-increasing velocity4 ,there is the 
case of the ballot3 what a blow was     
inflicted first by the lex ,gabinia1 and
 two years afterwards by the lex        
,cassia6 ,i seem already to see the     
people estranged from the ,senate1 and  
the most important affairs at the mercy 
of the multitude4 ,for you may be sure  
that more people will learn how to set  
such things in motion than how to stop  
them4 ,what is the point of these       
remarks8 ,this3 no one ever makes any   

attempt of this sort without friends to 
help him4 ,we must therefore impress    
upon good men that1 should they become  
inevitably involved in friendships with 
men of this kind1 they ought not to     
consider themselves under any obligation
 to stand by friends who are disloyal to
 the republic4 ,bad men must have the   
fear of punishment before their eyes3 a 
punishment not less severe for those who
 follow than for those who lead others  
to crime4 ,who was more famous and      
powerful in ,greece than ,themistocles8 
,at the head of the army in the ,persian
 war he had freed ,greece2 he owed his  
exile to personal envy3 but he did not  
submit to the wrong done him by his     
ungrateful country as he ought to have  
done4 ,he acted as ,coriolanus had acted
 among us twenty years before4 ,but no  
one was found to help them in their     
attacks upon their fatherland4 ,both of 
them accordingly committed suicide4  ,we
 conclude1 then1 not only that no such  
confederation of evilly disposed men    

must be allowed to shelter itself under 
the plea of friendship1 but that1 on the
 contrary1 it must be visited with the  
severest punishment1 lest the idea      
should prevail that fidelity to a friend
 justifies even making war upon one's   
country4 ,and this is a case which ,i am
 inclined to think1 considering how     
things are beginning to go1 will sooner 
or later arise4 ,and ,i care quite as   
much what the state of the constitution 
will be after my death as what it is    
now4  #ac4 ,let this1 then1 be laid down
 as the first law of friendship1 that we
 should ask from friends1 and do for    
friends'1 only what is good4 ,but do not
 let us wait to be asked either3 let    
there be ever an eager readiness1 and an
 absence of hesitation4 ,let us have the
 courage to give advice with candour4   
,in friendship1 let the influence of    
friends who give good advice be         
paramount2 and let this influence be    
used to enforce advice not only in      
plain-spoken terms1 but sometimes1 if   

the case demands it1 with sharpness2 and
 when so used1 let it be obeyed4  ,i    
give you these rules because ,i believe 
that some wonderful opinions are        
entertained by certain persons who have1
 ,i am told1 a reputation for wisdom in 
,greece4 ,there is nothing in the world1
 by the way1 beyond the reach of their  
sophistry4 ,well1 some of them teach    
that we should avoid very close         
friendships1 for fear that one man      
should have to endure the anxieties of  
several4 ,each man1 say they1 has enough
 and to spare on his own hands2 it is   
too bad to be involved in the cares of  
other people4 ,the wisest course is to  
hold the reins of friendship as loose as
 possible2 you can then tighten or      
slacken them at your will4 ,for the     
first condition of a happy life is      
freedom from care1 which no one's mind  
can enjoy if it has to travail1 so to   
speak1 for others besides itself4       
,another sect1 ,i am told1 gives vent to
 opinions still less generous4 ,i       

briefly touched on this subject just    
now4 ,they affirm that friendships      
should be sought solely for the sake of 
the assistance they give1 and not at all
 from motives of feeling and affection2 
and that therefore just in proportion as
 a man's power and means of support are 
lowest1 he is most eager to gain        
friendships3 thence it comes that weak  
women seek the support of friendship    
more than men1 the poor more than the   
rich1 the unfortunate rather than those 
esteemed prosperous4 ,what noble        
philosophy6 ,you might just as well take
 the sun out of the sky as friendship   
from life2 for the immortal gods have   
given us nothing better or more         
delightful4  ,but let us examine the two
 doctrines4 ,what is the value of this  
freedom from care8 ,it is very tempting 
at first sight1 but in practice it has  
in many cases to be put on one side4    
,for there is no business and no course 
of action demanded from us by our honour
 which you can consistently decline1 or 

lay aside when begun1 from a mere wish  
to escape from anxiety4 ,nay1 if we wish
 to avoid anxiety we must avoid virtue  
itself1 which necessarily involves some 
anxious thoughts in showing its loathing
 and abhorrence for the qualities which 
are opposite to itself--as kindness for 
ill-nature1 self-control for            
licentiousness1 courage for cowardice4  
,thus you may notice that it is the just
 who are most pained at injustice1 the  
brave at cowardly actions1 the temperate
 at depravity4 ,it is then              
characteristic of a rightly ordered mind
 to be pleased at what is good and      
grieved at the reverse4 ,seeing then    
that the wise are not exempt from the   
heart-ache 7which must be the case      
unless we suppose all human nature      
rooted out of their hearts71 why should 
we banish friendship from our lives1 for
 fear of being involved by it in some   
amount of distress8 ,if you take away   
emotion1 what difference remains ,i     
don't say between a man and a beast1 but

 between a man and a stone or a log of  
wood1 or anything else of that kind8    
,neither should we give any weight to   
the doctrine that virtue is something   
rigid and unyielding as iron4 ,in point 
of fact it is in regard to friendship1  
as in so many other things1 so supple   
and sensitive that it expands1 so to    
speak1 at a friend's good fortune1      
contracts at his misfortunes4 ,we       
conclude then that mental pain which we 
must often encounter on a friend's      
account is not of sufficient consequence
 to banish friendship from our life1 any
 more than it is true that the cardinal 
virtues are to be dispensed with because
 they involve certain anxieties and     
distresses4  #ad4 ,let me repeat then1  
the clear indication of virtue1 to which
 a mind of like character is naturally  
attracted1 is the beginning of          
friendship4 ,when that is the case the  
rise of affection is a necessity4 ,for  
what can be more irrational than to take
 delight in many objects incapable of   

response1 such as office1 fame1 splendid
 buildings1 and personal decoration1 and
 yet to take little or none in a        
sentient being endowed with virtue1     
which has the faculty of loving or1 if  
,i may use the expression1 loving back8 
,for nothing is really more delightful  
than a return of affection1 and the     
mutual interchange of kind feeling and  
good offices4 ,and if we add1 as we may 
fairly do1 that nothing so powerfully   
attracts and draws one thing to itself  
as likeness does to friendship1 it will 
at once be admitted to be true that the 
good love the good and attach them to   
themselves as though they were united by
 blood and nature4 ,for nothing can be  
more eager1 or rather greedy1 for what  
is like itself than nature4 ,so1 my dear
 ,fannius and ,scaevola1 we may look    
upon this as an established fact1 that  
between good men there is1 as it were of
 necessity1 a kindly feeling1 which is  
the source of friendship ordained by    
nature4 ,but this same kindliness       

affects the many also4 ,for that is no  
unsympathetic or selfish or exclusive   
virtue1 which protects even whole       
nations and consults their best         
interests4 ,and that certainly it would 
not have done had it disdained all      
affection for the common herd4  ,again1 
the believers in the interest theory    
appear to me to destroy the most        
attractive link in the chain of         
friendship4 ,for it is not so much what 
one gets by a friend that gives one     
pleasure1 as the warmth of his feeling2 
and we only care for a friend's service 
if it has been prompted by affection4   
,and so far from its being true that    
lack of means is a motive for seeking   
friendship1 it is usually those who     
being most richly endowed with wealth   
and means1 and above all with virtue    
7which1 after all1 is a man's best      
support71 are least in need of another1 
that are most openhanded and beneficent4
 ,indeed ,i am inclined to think that   
friends ought at times to be in want of 

something4 ,for instance1 what scope    
would my affections have had if ,scipio 
had never wanted my advice or           
co-operation at home or abroad8 ,it is  
not friendship1 then1 that follows      
material advantage1 but material        
advantage friendship4  #ae4 ,we must not
 therefore listen to these superfine    
gentlemen when they talk of friendship1 
which they know neither in theory nor in
 practice4 ,for who1 in heaven's name1  
would choose a life of the greatest     
wealth and abundance on condition of    
neither loving or being beloved by any  
creature8 ,that is the sort of life     
tyrants endure4 ,they1 of course1 can   
count on no fidelity1 no affection1 no  
security for the goodwill of any one4   
,for them all is suspicion and anxiety2 
for them there is no possibility of     
friendship4 ,who can love one whom he   
fears1 or by whom he knows that he is   
feared8 ,yet such men have a show of    
friendship offered them1 but it is only 
a fair-weather show4 ,if it ever happen 

that they fall1 as it generally does1   
they will at once understand how        
friendless they are4 ,so they say       
,tarquin observed in his exile that he  
never knew which of his friends were    
real and which sham1 until he had ceased
 to be able to repay either4 ,though    
what surprises me is that a man of his  
proud and overbearing character should  
have a friend at all4 ,and as it was his
 character that prevented his having    
genuine friends1 so it often happens in 
the case of men of unusually great      
means--their very wealth forbids        
faithful friendships4 ,for not only is  
,fortune blind herself2 but she         
generally makes those blind also who    
enjoy her favours4 ,they are carried1 so
 to speak1 beyond themselves with       
self-conceit and self-will2 nor can     
anything be more perfectly intolerable  
than a successful fool4 ,you may often  
see it4 ,men who before had pleasant    
manners enough undergo a complete change
 on attaining power of office4 ,they    

despise their old friends3 devote       
themselves to new4  ,now1 can anything  
be more foolish than that men who have  
all the opportunities which prosperity1 
wealth1 and great means can bestow1     
should secure all else which money can  
buy--horses1 servants1 splendid         
upholstering1 and costly plate--but do  
not secure friends1 who are1 if ,i may  
use the expression1 the most valuable   
and beautiful furniture of life8 ,and   
yet1 when they acquire the former1 they 
know not who will enjoy them1 nor for   
whom they may be taking all this        
trouble2 for they will one and all      
eventually belong to the strongest3     
while each man has a stable and         
inalienable ownership in his            
friendships4 ,and even if those         
possessions1 which are1 in a manner1 the
 gifts of fortune1 do prove permanent1  
life can never be anything but joyless  
which is without the consolations and   
companionship of friends4  #af4 ,to turn
 to another branch of our subject4 ,we  

must now endeavour to ascertain what    
limits are to be observed in            
friendship--what is the boundary-line1  
so to speak1 beyond which our affection 
is not to go4 ,on this point ,i notice  
three opinions1 with none of which ,i   
agree4 ,one is that we should love our  
friend just as much as we love          
ourselves1 and no more2 another1 that   
our affection to them should exactly    
correspond and equal theirs to us2 a    
third1 that a man should be valued at   
exactly the same rate as he values      
himself4 ,to not one of these opinions  
do ,i assent4 ,the first1 which holds   
that our regard for ourselves is to be  
the measure of our regard for our       
friend1 is not true2 for how many things
 there are which we would never have    
done for our own sakes1 but do for the  
sake of a friend6 ,we submit to make    
requests from unworthy people1 to       
descend even to supplication2 to be     
sharper in invective1 more violent in   
attack4 ,such actions are not creditable

 in our own interests1 but highly so in 
those of our friends4 ,there are many   
advantages too which men of upright     
character voluntarily forego1 or of     
which they are content to be deprived1  
that their friends may enjoy them rather
 than themselves4  ,the second doctrine 
is that which limits friendship to an   
exact equality in mutual good offices   
and good feelings4 ,but such a view     
reduces friendship to a question of     
figures in a spirit far too narrow and  
illiberal1 as though the object were to 
have an exact balance in a debtor and   
creditor account4 ,true friendship      
appears to me to be something richer and
 more generous than that comes to2 and  
not to be so narrowly on its guard      
against giving more than it receives4   
,in such a matter we must not be always 
afraid of something being wasted or     
running over in our measure1 or of more 
than is justly due being devoted to our 
friendship4  ,but the last limit        
proposed is the worst1 namely1 that a   

friend's estimate of himself is to be   
the measure of our estimate of him4 ,it 
often happens that a man has too humble 
an idea of himself1 or takes too        
despairing a view of his chance of      
bettering his fortune4 ,in such a case a
 friend ought not to take the view of   
him which he takes of himself4 ,rather  
he should do all he can to raise his    
drooping spirits1 and lead him to more  
cheerful hopes and thoughts4  ,we must  
then find some other limit4 ,but ,i must
 first mention the sentiment which used 
to call forth ,scipio's severest        
criticism4 ,he often said that no one   
ever gave utterance to anything more    
diametrically opposed to the spirit of  
friendship than the author of the       
dictum1 ,you should love your friend    
with the consciousness that you may one 
day hate him4 ,he could not be induced  
to believe that it was rightfully       
attributed to ,bias1 who was counted as 
one of the ,seven ,sages4 ,it was the   
sentiment of some person with sinister  

motives or selfish ambition1 or who     
regarded everything as it affected his  
own supremacy4 ,how can a man be friends
 with another1 if he thinks it possible 
that he may be his enemy8 ,why1 it will 
follow that he must wish and desire his 
friend to commit as many mistakes as    
possible1 that he may have all the more 
handles against him2 and1 conversely1   
that he must be annoyed1 irritated1 and 
jealous at the right actions or good    
fortune of his friends4 ,this maxim1    
then1 let it be whose it will1 is the   
utter destruction of friendship4 ,the   
true rule is to take such care in the   
selection of our friends as never to    
enter upon a friendship with a man whom 
we could under any circumstances come to
 hate4 ,and even if we are unlucky in   
our choice1 we must put up with         
it--according to ,scipio--in preference 
to making calculations as to a future   
breach4  #ag4 ,the real limit to be     
observed in friendship is this3 the     
characters of two friends must be       

stainless4 ,there must be complete      
harmony of interests1 purpose1 and aims1
 without exception4 ,then if the case   
arises of a friend's wish 7not strictly 
right in itself7 calling for support in 
a matter involving his life or          
reputation1 we must make some concession
 from the straight path--on condition1  
that is to say1 that extreme disgrace is
 not the consequence4 ,something must be
 conceded to friendship4 ,and yet we    
must not be entirely careless of our    
reputation1 nor regard the good opinion 
of our fellow-citizens as a weapon which
 we can afford to despise in conducting 
the business of our life1 however       
lowering it may be to tout for it by    
flattery and smooth words4 ,we must by  
no means abjure virtue1 which secures us
 affection4  ,but to return again to    
,scipio1 the sole author of the         
discourse on friendship4 ,he used to    
complain that there was nothing on which
 men bestowed so little pains3 that     
every one could tell exactly how many   

goats or sheep he had1 but not how many 
friends2 and while they took pains in   
procuring the former1 they were utterly 
careless in selecting friends1 and      
possessed no particular marks1 so to    
speak1 or tokens by which they might    
judge of their suitability for          
friendship4 ,now the qualities we ought 
to look out for in making our selection 
are firmness1 stability1 constancy4     
,there is a plentiful lack of men so    
endowed1 and it is difficult to form a  
judgment without testing4 ,now this     
testing can only be made during the     
actual existence of the friendship2 for 
friendship so often precedes the        
formation of a judgment1 and makes a    
previous test impossible4 ,if we are    
prudent then1 we shall rein in our      
impulse to affection as we do chariot   
horses4 ,we make a preliminary trial of 
horses4 ,so we should of friendship2 and
 should test our friends' characters by 
a kind of tentative friendship4 ,it may 
often happen that the untrustworthiness 

of certain men is completely displayed  
in a small money matter2 others who are 
proof against a small sum are detected  
if it be large4 ,but even if some are   
found who think it mean to prefer money 
to friendship1 where shall we look for  
those who put friendship before office1 
civil or military promotions1 and       
political power1 and who1 when the      
choice lies between these things on the 
one side and the claims of friendship on
 the other1 do not give a strong        
preference to the former8 ,it is not in 
human nature to be indifferent to       
political power2 and if the price men   
have to pay for it is the sacrifice of  
friendship1 they think their treason    
will be thrown into the shade by the    
magnitude of the reward4 ,this is why   
true friendship is very difficult to    
find among those who engage in politics 
and the contest for office4 ,where can  
you find the man to prefer his friend's 
advancement to his own8 ,and to say     
nothing of that1 think how grievous and 

almost intolerable it is to most men to 
share political disaster4 ,you will     
scarcely find anyone who can bring      
himself to do that4 ,and though what    
,ennius says is quite true1-- the hour  
of need shews the friend indeed1--yet it
 is in these two ways that most people  
betray their untrustworthiness and      
inconstancy1 by looking down on friends 
when they are themselves prosperous1 or 
deserting them in their distress4 ,a    
man1 then1 who has shewn a firm1        
unshaken1 and unvarying friendship in   
both these contingencies we must reckon 
as one of a class the rarest in the     
world1 and all but superhuman4  #ah4    
,now1 what is the quality to look out   
for as a warrant for the stability and  
permanence of friendship8 ,it is        
loyalty4 ,nothing that lacks this can be
 stable4 ,we should also in making our  
selection look out for simplicity1 a    
social disposition1 and a sympathetic   
nature1 moved by what moves us4 ,these  
all contribute to maintain loyalty4 ,you

 can never trust a character which is   
intricate and tortuous4 ,nor1 indeed1 is
 it possible for one to be trustworthy  
and firm who is unsympathetic by nature 
and unmoved by what affects ourselves4  
,we may add1 that he must neither take  
pleasure in bringing accusations against
 us himself1 nor believe them when they 
are brought4 ,all these contribute to   
form that constancy which ,i have been  
endeavouring to describe4 ,and the      
result is1 what ,i started by saying1   
that friendship is only possible between
 good men4  ,now there are two          
characteristic features in his treatment
 of his friends that a good 7which may  
be regarded as equivalent to a wise7 man
 will always display4 ,first1 he will be
 entirely without any make-believe or   
pretence of feeling2 for the open       
display even of dislike is more becoming
 to an ingenuous character than a       
studied concealment of sentiment4       
,secondly1 he will not only reject all  
accusations brought against his friend  

by another1 but he will not be          
suspicious himself either1 nor be always
 thinking that his friend has acted     
improperly4 ,besides this1 there should 
be a certain pleasantness in word and   
manner which adds no little flavour to  
friendship4 ,a gloomy temper and        
unvarying gravity may be very           
impressive2 but friendship should be a  
little less unbending1 more indulgent   
and gracious1 and more inclined to all  
kinds of good-fellowship and            
good-nature4  #ai4 ,but here arises a   
question of some little difficulty4 ,are
 there any occasions on which1 assuming 
their worthiness1 we should prefer new  
to old friends1 just as we prefer young 
to aged horses8 ,the answer admits of no
 doubt whatever4 ,for there should be no
 satiety in friendship1 as there is in  
other things4 ,the older the sweeter1 as
 in wines that keep well4 ,and the      
proverb is a true one1 ,you must eat    
many a peck of salt with a man to be    
thorough friends with him4 ,novelty1    

indeed1 has its advantage1 which we must
 not despise4 ,there is always hope of  
fruit1 as there is in healthy blades of 
corn4 ,but age too must have its proper 
position2 and1 in fact1 the influence of
 time and habit is very great4 ,to recur
 to the illustration of the horse which 
,i have just now used4 ,every one likes 
ceteris paribus to use the horse to     
which he has been accustomed1 rather    
than one that is untried and new4 ,and  
it is not only in the case of a living  
thing that this rule holds good1 but in 
inanimate things also2 for we like      
places where we have lived the longest1 
even though they are mountainous and    
covered with forest4 ,but here is       
another golden rule in friendship3 put  
yourself on a level with your friend4   
,for it often happens that there are    
certain superiorities1 as for example   
,scipio's in what ,i may call our set4  
,now he never assumed any airs of       
superiority over ,philus1 or ,rupilius1 
or ,mummius1 or over friends of a lower 

rank still4 ,for instance1 he always    
shewed a deference to his brother       
,quintus ,maximus because he was his    
senior1 who1 though a man no doubt of   
eminent character1 was by no means his  
equal4 ,he used also to wish that all   
his friends should be the better for his
 support4 ,this is an example we should 
all follow4 ,if any of us have any      
advantage in personal character1        
intellect1 or fortune1 we should be     
ready to make our friends sharers and   
partners in it with ourselves4 ,for     
instance1 if their parents are in humble
 circumstances1 if their relations are  
powerful neither in intellect nor means1
 we should supply their deficiencies and
 promote their rank and dignity4 ,you   
know the legends of children brought up 
as servants in ignorance of their       
parentage and family4 ,when they are    
recognized and discovered to be the sons
 of gods or kings1 they still retain    
their affection for the shepherds whom  
they have for many years looked upon as 

their parents4 ,much more ought this to 
be so in the case of real and undoubted 
parents4 ,for the advantages of genius  
and virtue1 and in short1 of every kind 
of superiority1 are never realized to   
their fullest extent until they are     
bestowed upon our nearest and dearest4  
#bj4 ,but the converse must also be     
observed4 ,for in friendship and        
relationship1 just as those who possess 
any superiority must put themselves on  
an equal footing with those who are less
 fortunate1 so these latter must not be 
annoyed at being surpassed in genius1   
fortune1 or rank4 ,but most people of   
that sort are forever either grumbling  
at something1 or harping on their       
claims2 and especially if they consider 
that they have services of their own to 
allege involving zeal and friendship and
 some trouble to themselves4 ,people who
 are always bringing up their services  
are a nuisance4 ,the recipient ought to 
remember them2 the performer should     
never mention them4 ,in the case of     

friends1 then1 as the superior are bound
 to descend1 so are they bound in a     
certain sense to raise those below them4
 ,for there are people who make their   
friendship disagreeable by imagining    
themselves undervalued4 ,this generally 
happens only to those who think that    
they deserve to be so2 and they ought to
 be shewn by deeds as well as by words  
the groundlessness of their opinion4    
,now the measure of your benefits should
 be in the first place your own power to
 bestow1 and in the second place the    
capacity to bear them on the part of him
 on whom you are bestowing affection and
 help4 ,for1 however great your personal
 prestige may be1 you cannot raise all  
your friends to the highest offices of  
the ,state4 ,for instance1 ,scipio was  
able to make ,publius ,rupilius consul1 
but not his brother ,lucius4 ,but       
granting that you can give anyone       
anything you choose1 you must have a    
care that it does not prove to be beyond
 his powers4 ,as a general rule1 we must

 wait to make up our mind about         
friendships till men's characters and   
years have arrived at their full        
strength and development4 ,people must  
not1 for instance1 regard as fast       
friends all whom in their youthful      
enthusiasm for hunting or football they 
liked for having the same tastes4 ,by   
that rule1 if it were a mere question of
 time1 no one would have such claims on 
our affections as nurses and            
slave-tutors4 ,not that they are to be  
neglected1 but they stand on a different
 ground4 ,it is only these mature       
friendships that can be permanent4 ,for 
difference of character leads to        
difference of aims1 and the result of   
such diversity is to estrange friends4  
,the sole reason1 for instance1 which   
prevents good men from making friends   
with bad1 or bad with good1 is that the 
divergence of their characters and aims 
is the greatest possible4  ,another good
 rule in friendship is this3 do not let 
an excessive affection hinder the       

highest interests of your friends4 ,this
 very often happens4 ,i will go again to
 the region of fable for an instance4   
,neoptolemus could never have taken     
,troy if he had been willing to listen  
to ,lycomedes1 who had brought him up1  
and with many tears tried to prevent his
 going there4 ,again1 it often happens  
that important business makes it        
necessary to part from friends3 the man 
who tries to baulk it1 because he thinks
 that he cannot endure the separation1  
is of a weak and effeminate nature1 and 
on that very account makes but a poor   
friend4 ,there are1 of course1 limits to
 what you ought to expect from a friend 
and to what you should allow him to     
demand of you4 ,and these you must take 
into calculation in every case4  #ba4   
,again1 there is such a disaster1 so to 
speak1 as having to break off           
friendship4 ,and sometimes it is one we 
cannot avoid4 ,for at this point the    
stream of our discourse is leaving the  
intimacies of the wise and touching on  

the friendship of ordinary people4 ,it  
will happen at times that an outbreak of
 vicious conduct affects either a man's 
friends themselves or strangers1 yet the
 discredit falls on the friends4 ,in    
such cases friendships should be allowed
 to die out gradually by an intermission
 of intercourse4 ,they should1 as ,i    
have been told that ,cato used to say1  
rather be unstitched than torn in twain2
 unless1 indeed1 the injurious conduct  
be of so violent and outrageous a nature
 as to make an instant breach and       
separation the only possible course     
consistent with honour and rectitude4   
,again1 if a change in character and aim
 takes place1 as often happens1 or if   
party politics produces an alienation of
 feeling 7,i am now speaking1 as ,i said
 a short time ago1 of ordinary          
friendships1 not of those of the wise71 
we shall have to be on our guard against
 appearing to embark upon active enmity 
while we only mean to resign a          
friendship4 ,for there can be nothing   

more discreditable than to be at open   
war with a man with whom you have been  
intimate4 ,scipio1 as you are aware1 had
 abandoned his friendship for ,quintus  
,pompeius on my account2 and again1 from
 differences of opinion in politics1 he 
became estranged from my colleague      
,metellus4 ,in both cases he acted with 
dignity and moderation1 shewing that he 
was offended indeed1 but without        
rancour4  ,our first object1 then1      
should be to prevent a breach2 our      
second1 to secure that1 if it does      
occur1 our friendship should seem to    
have died a natural rather than a       
violent death4 ,next1 we should take    
care that friendship is not converted   
into active hostility1 from which flow  
personal quarrels1 abusive language1 and
 angry recriminations4 ,these last1     
however1 provided that they do not pass 
all reasonable limits of forbearance1 we
 ought to put up with1 and1 in          
compliment to an old friendship1 allow  
the party that inflicts the injury1 not 

the one that submits to it1 to be in the
 wrong4 ,generally speaking1 there is   
but one way of securing and providing   
oneself against faults and              
inconveniences of this sort--not to be  
too hasty in bestowing our affection1   
and not to bestow it at all on unworthy 
objects4  ,now1 by worthy of friendship 
,i mean those who have in themselves the
 qualities which attract affection4     
,this sort of man is rare2 and indeed   
all excellent things are rare2 and      
nothing in the world is so hard to find 
as a thing entirely and completely      
perfect of its kind4 ,but most people   
not only recognize nothing as good in   
our life unless it is profitable1 but   
look upon friends as so much stock1     
caring most for those by whom they hope 
to make most profit4 ,accordingly they  
never possess that most beautiful and   
most spontaneous friendship which must  
be sought solely for itself without any 
ulterior object4 ,they fail also to     
learn from their own feelings the nature

 and the strength of friendship4 ,for   
every one loves himself1 not for any    
reward which such love may bring1 but   
because he is dear to himself           
independently of anything else4 ,but    
unless this feeling is transferred to   
another1 what a real friend is will     
never be revealed2 for he is1 as it     
were1 a second self4 ,but if we find    
these two instincts shewing themselves  
in animals1--whether of the air or the  
sea or the land1 whether wild or        
tame1--first1 a love of self1 which in  
fact is born in everything that lives   
alike2 and1 secondly1 an eagerness to   
find and attach themselves to other     
creatures of their own kind2 and if this
 natural action is accompanied by desire
 and by something resembling human love1
 how much more must this be the case in 
man by the law of his nature8 ,for man  
not only loves himself1 but seeks       
another whose spirit he may so blend    
with his own as almost to make one being
 of two4  #bb4 ,but most people         

unreasonably1 not to speak of modesty1  
want such a friend as they are unable to
 be themselves1 and expect from their   
friends what they do not themselves     
give4 ,the fair course is first to be   
good yourself1 and then to look out for 
another of like character4 ,it is       
between such that the stability in      
friendship of which we have been talking
 can be secured2 when1 that is to say1  
men who are united by affection learn1  
first of all1 to rule those passions    
which enslave others1 and in the next   
place to take delight in fair and       
equitable conduct1 to bear each other's 
burdens1 never to ask each other for    
anything inconsistent with virtue and   
rectitude1 and not only to serve and    
love but also to respect each other4 ,i 
say respect2 for if respect is gone1    
friendship has lost its brightest jewel4
 ,and this shows the mistake of those   
who imagine that friendship gives a     
privilege to licentiousness and sin4    
,nature has given us friendship as the  

handmaid of virtue1 not as a partner in 
guilt3 to the end that virtue1 being    
powerless when isolated to reach the    
highest objects1 might succeed in doing 
so in union and partnership with        
another4 ,those who enjoy in the        
present1 or have enjoyed in the past1 or
 are destined to enjoy in the future    
such a partnership as this1 must be     
considered to have secured the most     
excellent and auspicious combination for
 reaching nature's highest good4 ,this  
is the partnership1 ,i say1 which       
combines moral rectitude1 fame1 peace of
 mind1 serenity3 all that men think     
desirable because with them life is     
happy1 but without them cannot be so4   
,this being our best and highest object1
 we must1 if we desire to attain it1    
devote ourselves to virtue2 for without 
virtue we can obtain neither friendship 
nor anything else desirable4 ,in fact1  
if virtue be neglected1 those who       
imagine themselves to possess friends   
will find out their error as soon as    

some grave disaster forces them to make 
trial of them4 ,wherefore1 ,i must again
 and again repeat1 you must satisfy your
 judgment before engaging your          
affections3 not love first and judge    
afterwards4 ,we suffer from carelessness
 in many of our undertakings3 in none   
more than in selecting and cultivating  
our friends4 ,we put the cart before the
 horse1 and shut the stable door when   
the steed is stolen1 in defiance of the 
old proverb4 ,for1 having mutually      
involved ourselves in a long-standing   
intimacy or by actual obligations1 all  
on a sudden some cause of offence arises
 and we break off our friendships in    
full career4  #bc4 ,it is this that     
makes such carelessness in a matter of  
supreme importance all the more worthy  
of blame4 ,i say supreme importance1    
because friendship is the one thing     
about the utility of which everybody    
with one accord is agreed4 ,that is not 
the case in regard even to virtue       
itself2 for many people speak           

slightingly of virtue as though it were 
mere puffing and self-glorification4    
,nor is it the case with riches4 ,many  
look down on riches1 being content with 
a little and taking pleasure in poor    
fare and dress1 ,and as to the political
 offices for which some have a burning  
desire--how many entertain such a       
contempt for them as to think nothing in
 the world more empty and trivial6  ,and
 so on with the rest2 things desirable  
in the eyes of some are regarded by very
 many as worthless4 ,but of friendship  
all think alike to a man1 whether those 
have devoted themselves to politics1 or 
those who delight in science and        
philosophy1 or those who follow a       
private way of life and care for nothing
 but their own business1 or those lastly
 who have given themselves body and soul
 to sensuality--they all think1 ,i say1 
that without friendship life is no life1
 if they want some part of it1 at any   
rate1 to be noble4 ,for friendship1 in  
one way or another1 penetrates into the 

lives of us all1 and suffers no career  
to be entirely free from its influence4 
,though a man be of so churlish and     
unsociable a nature as to loathe and    
shun the company of mankind1 as we are  
told was the case with a certain ,timon 
at ,athens1 yet even he cannot refrain  
from seeking some one in whose hearing  
he may disgorge the venom of his bitter 
temper4 ,we should see this most        
clearly1 if it were possible that some  
god should carry us away from these     
haunts of men1 and place us somewhere in
 perfect solitude1 and then should      
supply us in abundance with everything  
necessary to our nature1 and yet take   
from us entirely the opportunity of     
looking upon a human being4 ,who could  
steel himself to endure such a life8    
,who would not lose in his loneliness   
the zest for all pleasures8 ,and indeed 
this is the point of the observation of1
 ,i think1 ,archytas of ,tarentum4 ,i   
have it third hand2 men who were my     
seniors told me that their seniors had  

told them4 ,it was this3 ,if a man could
 ascend to heaven and get a clear view  
of the natural order of the universe1   
and the beauty of the heavenly bodies1  
that wonderful spectacle would give him 
small pleasure1 though nothing could be 
conceived more delightful if he had but 
had some one to whom to tell what he had
 seen4 ,so true it is that nature abhors
 isolation1 and ever leans upon         
something as a stay and support2 and    
this is found in its most pleasing form 
in our closest friend4  #bd4 ,but though
 ,nature also declares by so many       
indications what her wish and object and
 desire is1 we yet in a manner turn a   
deaf ear and will not hear her warnings4
 ,the intercourse between friends is    
varied and complex1 and it must often   
happen that causes of suspicion and     
offence arise1 which a wise man will    
sometimes avoid1 at other times remove1 
at others treat with indulgence4 ,the   
one possible cause of offence that must 
be faced is when the interests of your  

friend and your own sincerity are at    
stake4 ,for instance1 it often happens  
that friends need remonstrance and even 
reproof4 ,when these are administered in
 a kindly spirit they ought to be taken 
in good part4 ,but somehow or other     
there is truth in what my friend        
,terence says in his ,andria3           
,compliance gets us friends1 plain      
speaking hate4  ,plain speaking is a    
cause of trouble1 if the result of it is
 resentment1 which is poison of         
friendship2 but compliance is really the
 cause of much more trouble1 because by 
indulging his faults it lets a friend   
plunge into headlong ruin4 ,but the man 
who is most to blame is he who resents  
plain speaking and allows flattery to   
egg him on to his ruin4 ,on this point1 
then1 from first to last there is need  
of deliberation and care4 ,if we        
remonstrate1 it should be without       
bitterness2 if we reprove1 there should 
be no word of insult4 ,in the matter of 
compliance 7for ,i am glad to adopt     

,terence's word71 though there should be
 every courtesy1 yet that base kind     
which assists a man in vice should be   
far from us1 for it is unworthy of a    
free-born man1 to say nothing of a      
friend4 ,it is one thing to live with a 
tyrant1 another with a friend4 ,but if a
 man's ears are so closed to plain      
speaking that he cannot bear to hear the
 truth from a friend1 we may give him up
 in despair4 ,this remark of ,cato's1 as
 so many of his did1 shews great        
acuteness3 ,there are people who owe    
more to bitter enemies than to          
apparently pleasant friends3 the former 
often speak the truth1 the latter never4
 ,besides1 it is a strange paradox that 
the recipients of advice should feel no 
annoyance where they ought to feel it1  
and yet feel so much where they ought   
not4 ,they are not at all vexed at      
having committed a fault1 but very angry
 at being reproved for it4 ,on the      
contrary1 they ought to be grieved at   
the crime and glad of the correction4   

#be4 ,well1 then1 if it is true that to 
give and receive advice--the former with
 freedom and yet without bitterness1 the
 latter with patience and without       
irritation--is peculiarly appropriate to
 genuine friendship1 it is no less true 
that there can be nothing more utterly  
subversive of friendship than flattery1 
adulation1 and base compliance4 ,i use  
as many terms as possible to brand this 
vice of light-minded1 untrustworthy men1
 whose sole object in speaking is to    
please without any regard to truth4 ,in 
everything false pretence is bad1 for it
 suspends and vitiates our power of     
discerning the truth4 ,but to nothing it
 is so hostile as to friendship2 for it 
destroys that frankness without which   
friendship is an empty name4 ,for the   
essence of friendship being that two    
minds become as one1 how can that ever  
take place if the mind of each of the   
separate parties to it is not single and
 uniform1 but variable1 changeable1 and 
complex8 ,can anything be so pliable1 so

 wavering1 as the mind of a man whose   
attitude depends not only on another's  
feeling and wish1 but on his very looks 
and nods8       ,if one says ,no1 ,i    
answer ,no2      ,if ,yes1 ,i answer    
,yes4      ,in fine1 ,i've laid this    
task upon myself      ,to echo all      
that's said--  to quote my old friend   
,terence again4 ,but he puts these words
 into the mouth of a ,gnatho4 ,to admit 
such a man into one's intimacy at all is
 a sign of folly4 ,but there are many   
people like ,gnatho1 and it is when they
 are superior either in position or     
fortune or reputation that their        
flatteries become mischievous1 the      
weight of their position making up for  
the lightness of their character4 ,but  
if we only take reasonable care1 it is  
as easy to separate and distinguish a   
genuine from a specious friend as       
anything else that is coloured and      
artificial from what is sincere and     
genuine4 ,a public assembly1 though     
composed of men of the smallest possible

 culture1 nevertheless will see clearly 
the difference between a mere demagogue 
7that is1 a flatterer and untrustworthy 
citizen7 and a man of principle1        
standing1 and solidity4 ,it was by this 
kind of flattering language that ,gaius 
,papirius the other day endeavoured to  
tickle the ears of the assembled people1
 when proposing his law to make the     
tribunes re-eligible4 ,i spoke against  
it4 ,but ,i will leave the personal     
question4 ,i prefer speaking of ,scipio4
 ,good heavens6 how impressive his      
speech was1 what a majesty there was in 
it6 ,you would have pronounced him1     
without hesitation1 to be no mere       
henchman of the ,roman people1 but their
 leader4 ,however1 you were there1 and  
moreover have the speech in your hands4 
,the result was that a law meant to     
please the people was by the people's   
votes rejected4 ,once more to refer to  
myself1 you remember how apparently     
popular was the law proposed by ,gaius  
,licinius ,crassus about the election to

 the ,college of ,priests in the        
consulship of ,quintus ,maximus1        
,scipio's brother1 and ,lucius          
,mancinus4 ,for the power of filling up 
their own vacancies on the part of the  
colleges was by this proposal to be     
transferred to the people4 ,it was this 
man1 by the way1 who began the practice 
of turning towards the forum when       
addressing the people4 ,in spite of     
this1 however1 upon my speaking on the  
conservative side1 religion gained an   
easy victory over his plausible speech4 
,this took place in my praetorship1 five
 years before ,i was elected consul1    
which shows that the cause was          
successfully maintained more by the     
merits of the case than by the prestige 
of the highest office4  #bf4 ,now1 if on
 a stage1 such as a public assembly     
essentially is1 where there is the      
amplest room for fiction and            
half-truths1 truth nevertheless prevails
 if it be but fairly laid open and      
brought into the light of day1 what     

ought to happen in the case of          
friendship1 which rests entirely on     
truthfulness8 ,friendship1 in which1    
unless you both see and show an open    
breast1 to use a common expression1 you 
can neither trust nor be certain of     
anything--no1 not even of mutual        
affection1 since you cannot be sure of  
its sincerity4 ,however1 this flattery1 
injurious as it is1 can hurt no one but 
the man who takes it in and likes it4   
,and it follows that the man to open his
 ears widest to flatterers is he who    
first flatters himself and is fondest of
 himself4 ,i grant you that ,virtue     
naturally loves herself2 for she knows  
herself and perceives how worthy of love
 she is4 ,but ,i am not now speaking of 
absolute virtue1 but of the belief men  
have that they possess virtue4 ,the fact
 is that fewer people are endowed with  
virtue than wish to be thought to be so4
 ,it is such people that take delight in
 flattery4 ,when they are addressed in  
language expressly adapted to flatter   

their vanity1 they look upon such empty 
persiflage as a testimony to the truth  
of their own praises4 ,it is not then   
properly friendship at all when the one 
will not listen to the truth1 and the   
other is prepared to lie4 ,nor would the
 servility of parasites in comedy have  
seemed humorous to us had there been no 
such things as braggart captains4 ,is   
,thais really much obliged to me8 ,it   
would have been quite enough to answer  
,much1 but he must needs say ,immensely4
 ,your servile flatterer always         
exaggerates what his victim wishes to be
 put strongly4 ,wherefore1 though it is 
with those who catch at and invite it   
that this flattering falsehood is       
especially powerful1 yet men even of    
soldier and steadier character must be  
warned to be on the watch against being 
taken in by cunningly disguised         
flattery4 ,an open flatterer any one can
 detect1 unless he is an absolute fool  
the covert insinuation of the cunning   
and the sly is what we have to be       

studiously on our guard against4 ,his   
detection is not by any means the       
easiest thing in the world1 for he often
 covers his servility under the guise of
 contradiction1 and flatters by         
pretending to dispute1 and then at last 
giving in and allowing himself to be    
beaten1 that the person hoodwinked may  
think himself to have been the          
clearer-sighted4 ,now what can be more  
degrading than to be thus hoodwinked8   
,you must be on your guard against this 
happening to you1 like the man in the   
,heiress3       ,how have ,i been       
befooled6 no drivelling dotards      ,on
 any stage were e'er so p#a;ayed upon4  
,for even on the stage we have no       
grosser representation of folly than    
that of short-sighted and credulous old 
men4 ,but somehow or other ,i have      
strayed away from the friendship of the 
perfect1 that is of the wise 7meaning1  
of course1 such wisdom as human nature  
is capable of71 to the subject of       
vulgar1 unsubstantial friendships4 ,let 

us then return to our original theme1   
and at length bring that1 too1 to a     
conclusion4  #bg4 ,well1 then1 ,fannius 
and ,mucius1 ,i repeat what ,i said     
before4 ,it is virtue1 virtue1 which    
both creates and preserves friendship4  
,on it depends harmony of interest1     
permanence1 fidelity4 ,when ,virtue has 
reared her head and shewn the light of  
her countenance1 and seen and recognised
 the same light in another1 she         
gravitates towards it1 and in her turn  
welcomes that which the other has to    
shew2 and from it springs up a flame    
which you may call love or friendship as
 you please4 ,both words are from the   
same root in ,latin2 and love is just   
the cleaving to him whom you love       
without the prompting of need or any    
view to advantage--though this latter   
blossoms spontaneously on friendship1   
little as you may have looked for it4   
,it is with such warmth of feeling that 
,i cherished ,lucius ,paulus1 ,marcus   
,cato1 ,galus ,gallus1 ,publius ,nasica1

 ,tiberius ,gracchus1 my dear ,scipio's 
father-in-law4 ,it shines with even     
greater warmth when men are of the same 
age1 as in the case of ,scipio and      
,lucius ,furius1 ,publius ,rupilius1    
,spurius ,mummius1 and myself4 ,en      
revanche1 in my old age ,i find comfort 
in the affection of young men1 as in the
 case of yourselves and ,quintus        
,tubero3 nay more1 ,i delight in the    
intimacy of such a very young man as    
,publius ,rutilius and ,aulus           
,verginius4 ,and since the law of our   
nature and of our life is that a new    
generation is for ever springing up1 the
 most desirable thing is that along with
 your contemporaries1 with whom you     
started in the race1 you may also teach 
what is to us the goal4 ,but in view of 
the instability and perishableness of   
mortal things1 we should be continually 
on the look-out for some to love and by 
whom to be loved2 for if we lose        
affection and kindliness from our life1 
we lose all that gives it charm4 ,for   

me1 indeed1 though torn away by a sudden
 stroke1 ,scipio still lives and ever   
wilt live4 ,for it was the virtue of the
 man that ,i loved1 and that has not    
suffered death4 ,and it is not my eyes  
only1 because ,i had all my life a      
personal experience of it1 that never   
lose sight of it3 it will shine to      
posterity also with undimmed glory4 ,no 
one will ever cherish a nobler ambition 
or a loftier hope without thinking his  
memory and his image the best to put    
before his eyes4 ,i declare that of all 
the blessings which either fortune or   
nature has bestowed upon me ,i know none
 to compare with ,scipio's friendship4  
,in it ,i found sympathy in public1     
counsel in private business2 in it too a
 means of spending my leisure with      
unalloyed delight4 ,never1 to the best  
of my knowledge1 did ,i offend him even 
in the most trivial point2 never did ,i 
hear a word from him ,i could have      
wished unsaid4 ,we had one house1 one   
table1 one style of living2 and not only

 were we together on foreign service1   
but in our tours also and country       
sojourns4 ,why speak of our eagerness to
 be ever gaining some knowledge1 to be  
ever learning something1 on which we    
spent all our leisure hours far from the
 gaze of the world8 ,if the recollection
 and memory of these things had perished
 with the man1 ,i could not possibly    
have endured the regret for one so      
closely united with me in life and      
affection4 ,but these things have not   
perished2 they are rather fed and       
strengthened by reflexion and memory4   
,even supposing me to have been entirely
 bereft of them1 still my time of life  
of itself brings me no small            
consolation3 for ,i cannot have much    
longer now to bear this regret2 and     
everything that is brief ought to be    
endurable1 however severe4  ,this is all
 ,i had to say on friendship4 ,one piece
 of advice on parting4 ,make up your    
minds to this4 ,virtue 7without which   
friendship is impossible7 is first2 but 

next to it1 and to it alone1 the        
greatest of all things is ,friendship4  
,,on ,,old ,,age        #a4 ,and should 
my service1 ,titus1 ease the weight     
,of care that wrings your heart1 and    
draw the sting      ,which rankles      
there1 what guerdon shall there be8     
,,for ,i may address you1 ,atticus1 in  
the lines in which ,flamininus was      
addressed by the man1       who1 poor in
 wealth1 was rich in honour's gold1     
though ,i am well assured that you are  
not1 as ,flamininus was1       kept on  
the rack of care by night and day4  ,for
 ,i know how well ordered and equable   
your mind is1 and am fully aware that it
 was not a surname alone which you      
brought home with you from ,athens1 but 
its culture and good sense4 ,and yet ,i 
have an idea that you are at times      
stirred to the heart by the same        
circumstances as myself4 ,to console you
 for these is a more serious matter1 and
 must be put off to another time4 ,for  
the present ,i have resolved to dedicate

 to you an essay on ,old ,age4 ,for from
 the burden of impending or at least    
advancing age1 common to us both1 ,i    
would do something to relieve us both   
though as to yourself ,i am fully aware 
that you support and will support it1 as
 you do everything else1 with calmness  
and philosophy4 ,but directly ,i        
resolved to write on old age1 you at    
once occurred to me as deserving a gift 
of which both of us might take          
advantage4 ,to myself1 indeed1 the      
composition of this book has been so    
delightful1 that it has not only wiped  
away all the disagreeables of old age1  
but has even made it luxurious and      
delightful too4 ,never1 therefore1 can  
philosophy be praised as highly as it   
deserves considering that its faithful  
disciple is able to spend every period  
of his life with unruffled feelings4    
,however1 on other subjects ,i have     
spoken at large1 and shall often speak  
again3 this book which ,i herewith send 
you is on ,old ,age4 ,i have put the    

whole discourse not1 as ,alisto of ,cos 
did1 in the mouth of ,tithonus--for a   
mere fable would have lacked            
conviction--but in that of ,marcus ,cato
 when he was an old man1 to give my     
essay greater weight4 ,i represent      
,laelius and ,scipio at his house       
expressing surprise at his carrying his 
years so lightly1 and ,cato answering   
them4 ,if he shall seem to shew somewhat
 more learning in this discourse than he
 generally did in his own books1 put it 
down to the ,greek literature of which  
it is known that he became an eager     
student in his old age4 ,but what need  
of more8 ,cato's own words will at once 
explain all ,i feel about old age4   ,m4
 ,cato4 ,publius ,cornelius ,scipio     
,africanus 7the younger74 ,gaius        
,laelius4  #b4 ,scipio4 ,many a time    
have ,i in conversation with my friend  
,gaius ,laelius here expressed my       
admiration1 ,marcus ,cato1 of the       
eminent1 nay perfect1 wisdom displayed  
by you indeed at all points1 but above  

everything because ,i have noticed that 
old age never seemed a burden to you1   
while to most old men it is so hateful  
that they declare themselves under a    
weight heavier than ,aetna4  ,cato4     
,your admiration is easily excited1 it  
seems1 my dear ,scipio and ,laelius4    
,men1 of course1 who have no resources  
in themselves for securing a good and   
happy life find every age burdensome4   
,but those who look for all happiness   
from within can never think anything bad
 which nature makes inevitable4 ,in that
 category before anything else comes old
 age1 to which all wish to attain1 and  
at which all grumble when attained4     
,such is ,folly's inconsistency and     
unreasonableness6 ,they say that it is  
stealing upon them faster than they     
expected4 ,in the first place1 who      
compelled them to hug an illusion8 ,for 
in what respect did old age steal upon  
manhood faster than manhood upon        
childhood8 ,in the next place1 in what  
way would old age have been less        

disagreeable to them if they were in    
their eight-hundredth year than in their
 eightieth8 ,for their past1 however    
long1 when once it was past1 would have 
no consolation for a stupid old age4    
,wherefore1 if it is your wont to admire
 my wisdom--and ,i would that it were   
worthy of your good opinion and of my   
own surname of ,sapiens--it really      
consists in the fact that ,i follow     
,nature1 the best of guides1 as ,i would
 a god1 and am loyal to her commands4   
,it is not likely1 if she has written   
the rest of the play well1 that she has 
been careless about the last act like   
some idle poet4 ,but after all some last
 was inevitable1 just as to the berries 
of a tree and the fruits of the earth   
there comes in the fulness of time a    
period of decay and fall4 ,a wise man   
will not make a grievance of this4 ,to  
rebel against nature--is not that to    
fight like the giants with the gods8    
,laelius4 ,and yet1 ,cato1 you will do  
us a very great favour 7,i venture to   

speak for ,scipio as for myself7        
if--since we all hope1 or at least wish1
 to become old men--you would allow us  
to learn from you in good time before it
 arrives1 by what methods we may most   
easily acquire the strength to support  
the burden of advancing age4  ,cato4 ,i 
will do so without doubt1 ,laelius1     
especially if1 as you say1 it will be   
agreeable to you both4  ,laelius ,we do 
wish very much1 ,cato1 if it is no      
trouble to you1 to be allowed to see the
 nature of the bourne which you have    
reached after completing a long journey1
 as it were1 upon which we too are bound
 to embark4  #c4 ,cato4 ,i will do the  
best ,i can1 ,laelius4 ,it has often    
been my fortune to bear the complaints  
of my contemporaries--like will to like1
 you know1 according to the old         
proverb--complaints to which men like   
,c4 ,salinator and ,sp4 ,albinus1 who   
were of consular rank and about my time1
 used to give vent4 ,they were1 first1  
that they had lost the pleasures of the 

senses1 without which they did not      
regard life as life at all2 and1        
secondly1 that they were neglected by   
those from whom they had been used to   
receive attentions4 ,such men appear to 
me to lay the blame on the wrong thing4 
,for if it had been the fault of old    
age1 then these same misfortunes would  
have befallen me and all other men of   
advanced years4 ,but ,i have known many 
of them who never said a word of        
complaint against old age2 for they were
 only too glad to be freed from the     
bondage of passion1 and were not at all 
looked down upon by their friends4 ,the 
fact is that the blame for all          
complaints of that kind is to be charged
 to character1 not to a particular time 
of life4 ,for old men who are reasonable
 and neither cross-grained nor churlish 
find old age tolerable enough3 whereas  
unreason and churlishness cause         
uneasiness at every time of life4       
,laelius ,it is as you say1 ,cato4 ,but 
perhaps some one may suggest that it is 

your large means1 wealth1 and high      
position that make you think old age    
tolerable3 whereas such good fortune    
only falls to few4  ,cato4 ,there is    
something in that1 ,laelius1 but by no  
means all4 ,for instance1 the story is  
told of the answer of ,themistocles in a
 wrangle with a certain ,seriphian1 who 
asserted that he owed his brilliant     
position to the reputation of his       
country1 not to his own4 ,if ,i had been
 a ,seriphian1 said he1 even ,i should  
never have been famous1 nor would you if
 you had been an ,athenian4 ,something  
like this may be said of old age4 ,for  
the philosopher himself could not find  
old age easy to bear in the depths of   
poverty1 nor the fool feel it anything  
but a burden though he were a           
millionaire4 ,you may be sure1 my dear  
,scipio and ,laelius1 that the arms best
 adapted to old age are culture and the 
active exercise of the virtues4 ,for if 
they have been maintained at every      
period--if one has lived much as well as

 long--the harvest they produce is      
wonderful1 not only because they never  
fail us even in our last days 7though   
that in itself is supremely important71 
but also because the consciousness of a 
well-spent life and the recollection of 
many virtuous actions are exceedingly   
delightful4  #d4 ,take the case of ,q4  
,fabius ,maximus1 the man1 ,i mean1 who 
recovered ,tarentum4 ,when ,i was a     
young man and he an old one1 ,i was as  
much attached to him as if he had been  
my contemporary4 ,for that great man's  
serious dignity was tempered by         
courteous manners1 nor had old age made 
any change in his character4 ,true1 he  
was not exactly an old man when my      
devotion to him began1 yet he was       
nevertheless well on in life2 for his   
first consulship fell in the year after 
my birth4 ,when quite a stripling ,i    
went with him in his fourth consulship  
as a soldier in the ranks1 on the       
expedition against ,capua1 and in the   
fifth year after that against ,tarentum4

 ,four years after that ,i was elected  
,quaestor1 holding office in the        
consulship of ,tuditanus and ,cethegus1 
in which year1 indeed1 he as a very old 
man spoke in favour of the ,cincian law 
on gifts and fees4  ,now this man       
conducted wars with all the spirit of   
youth when he was far advanced in life1 
and by his persistence gradually wearied
 out ,hannibal1 when rioting in all the 
confidence of youth4 ,how brilliant are 
those lines of my friend ,ennius on him6
       ,for us1 down beaten by the      
storms of fate1      ,one man by wise   
delays restored the ,state4      ,praise
 or dispraise moved not his constant    
mood1      ,true to his purpose1 to his 
country's good6      ,down              
ever-lengthening avenues of fame        
,thus shines and shall shine still his  
glorious name4  ,again what vigilance1  
what profound skill did he show in the  
capture of ,tarentum6 ,it was indeed in 
my hearing that he made the famous      
retort to ,salinator1 who had retreated 

into the citadel after losing the town3 
,it was owing to me1 ,quintus ,fabius1  
that you retook ,tarentum4 ,quite so1 he
 replied with a laugh2 for had you not  
lost it1 ,i should never have recovered 
it4 ,nor was he less eminent in civil   
life than in war4 ,in his second        
consulship1 though his colleague would  
not move in the matter1 he resisted as  
long as he could the proposal of the    
tribune ,c4 ,flaminius to divide the    
territory of the ,picenians and ,gauls  
in free allotments in defiance of a     
resolution of the ,senate4 ,again1      
though he was an augur1 he ventured to  
say that whatever was done in the       
interests of the ,state was done with   
the best possible auspices1 that any    
laws proposed against its interest were 
proposed against the auspices4 ,i was   
cognisant of much that was admirable in 
that great man1 but nothing struck me   
with greater astonishment than the way  
in which he bore the death of his son--a
 man of brilliant character and who had 

been consul4 ,his funeral speech over   
him is in wide circulation1 and when we 
read it1 is there any philosopher of    
whom we do not think meanly8 ,nor in    
truth was he only great in the light of 
day and in the sight of his             
fellow-citizens2 he was still more      
eminent in private and at home4 ,what a 
wealth of conversation6 ,what weighty   
maxims6 ,what a wide acquaintance with  
ancient history6 ,what an accurate      
knowledge of the science of augury6 ,for
 a ,roman1 too1 he had a great tincture 
of letters4 ,he had a tenacious memory  
for military history of every sort1     
whether of ,roman or foreign wars4 ,and 
,i used at that time to enjoy his       
conversation with a passionate          
eagerness1 as though ,i already divined1
 what actually turned out to be the     
case1 that when he died there would be  
no one to teach me anything4  #e4 ,what 
then is the purpose of such a long      
disquisition on ,maximus8 ,it is because
 you now see that an old age like his   

cannot conscientiously be called        
unhappy4 ,yet it is after all true that 
everybody cannot be a ,scipio or a      
,maximus1 with stormings of cities1 with
 battles by land and sea1 with wars in  
which they themselves commanded1 and    
with triumphs to recall4 ,besides this  
there is a quiet1 pure1 and cultivated  
life which produces a calm and gentle   
old age1 such as we have been told      
,plato's was1 who died at his           
writing-desk in his eighty-first year2  
or like that of ,isocrates1 who says    
that he wrote the book called ,the      
,panegyric in his ninety-fourth year1   
and who lived for five years afterwards2
 while his master ,gorgias of ,leontini 
completed a hundred and seven years     
without ever relaxing his diligence or  
giving up work4 ,when some one asked him
 why he consented to remain so long     
alive--,i have no fault1 said he1 to    
find with old age4 ,that was a noble    
answer1 and worthy of a scholar4 ,for   
fools impute their own frailties and    

guilt to old age1 contrary to the       
practice of ,ennui1 whom ,i mentioned   
just now4 ,in the lines--       ,like   
some brave steed that oft before        
,the ,olympic wreath of victory bore1   
,now by the weight of years oppressed1  
,forgets the race1 and takes his rest-- 
he compares his own old age to that of a
 high-spirited and successful           
race-horse4 ,and him indeed you may very
 well remember4 ,for the present consuls
 ,titus ,flamininus and ,manius ,acilius
 were elected in the nineteenth year    
after his death2 and his death occurred 
in the consulship of ,caepio and        
,philippus1 the latter consul for the   
second time3 in which year ,i1 then     
sixty-six years old1 spoke in favour of 
the ,voconian law in a voice that was   
still strong and with lungs still sound2
 while be1 though seventy years old1    
supported two burdens considered the    
heaviest of all--poverty and old age--in
 such a way as to be all but fond of    
them4  ,the fact is that when ,i come to

 think it over1 ,i find that there are  
four reasons for old age being thought  
unhappy3 ,first1 that it withdraws us   
from active employments2 second1 that it
 enfeebles the body2 third1 that it     
deprives us of nearly all physical      
pleasures2 fourth1 that it is the next  
step to death4 ,of each of these        
reasons1 if you will allow me1 let us   
examine the force and justice           
separately4  #f4 ,,old ,,age ,,withdraws
 ,,us ,,from ,,active ,,employments4    
,from which of them8 ,do you mean from  
those carried on by youth and bodily    
strength8 ,are there then no old men's  
employments to be after all conducted by
 the intellect1 even when bodies are    
weak8 ,so then ,q4 ,maximus did nothing2
 nor ,l4 ,aemilius--our father1 ,scipio1
 and my excellent son's father-in-law6  
,so with other old men--the ,fabricii1  
the ,guru and ,coruncanii--when they    
were supporting the ,state by their     
advice and influence1 they were doing   
nothing6 ,to old age ,appius ,claudius  

had the additional disadvantage of being
 blind2 yet it was he who1 when the     
,senate was inclining towards a peace   
with ,pyrrhus and was for making a      
treaty1 did not hesitate to say what    
,ennius has embalmed in the verses3     
,whither have swerved the souls so firm 
of yore8      ,is sense grown senseless8
 ,can feet stand no more8  ,and so on in
 a tone of the most passionate          
vehemence4 ,you know the poem1 and the  
speech of ,appius himself is extant4    
,now1 he delivered it seventeen years   
after his second consulship1 there      
having been an interval of ten years    
between the two consulships1 and he     
having been censor before his previous  
consulship4 ,this will show you that at 
the time of the war with ,pyrrhus he was
 a very old man4 ,yet this is the story 
handed down to us4  ,there is therefore 
nothing in the arguments of those who   
say that old age takes no part in public
 business4 ,they are like men who would 
say that a steersman does nothing in    

sailing a ship1 because1 while some of  
the crew are climbing the masts1 others 
hurrying up and down the gangways1      
others pumping out the bilge water1 he  
sits quietly in the stern holding the   
tiller4 ,he does not do what young men  
do2 nevertheless he does what is much   
more important and better4 ,the great   
affairs of life are not performed by    
physical strength1 or activity1 or      
nimbleness of body1 but by deliberation1
 character1 expression of opinion4 ,of  
these old age is not only not deprived1 
but1 as a rule1 has them in a greater   
degree4 ,unless by any chance ,i1 who as
 a soldier in the ranks1 as military    
tribune1 as legate1 and as consul have  
been employed in various kinds of war1  
now appear to you to be idle because not
 actively engaged in war4 ,but ,i enjoin
 upon the ,senate what is to be done1   
and how4 ,carthage has long been        
harbouring evil designs1 and ,i         
accordingly proclaim war against her in 
good time4 ,i shall never cease to      

entertain fears about her till ,i hear  
of her having been levelled with the    
ground4 ,the glory of doing that ,i pray
 that the immortal gods may reserve for 
you1 ,scipio1 so that you may complete  
the task begun by your grand-father1 now
 dead more than thirty-two years ago2   
though all years to come will keep that 
great man's memory green4 ,he died in   
the year before my censorship1 nine     
years after my consulship1 having been  
returned consul for the second time in  
my own consulship4 ,if then he had lived
 to his hundredth year1 would he have   
regretted having lived to be old8 ,for  
he would of course not have been        
practising rapid marches1 nor dashing on
 a foe1 nor hurling spears from a       
distance1 nor using swords at close     
quarters--but only counsel1 reason1 and 
senatorial eloquence4 ,and if those     
qualities had not resided in us seniors1
 our ancestors would never have called  
their supreme council a ,senate4 ,at    
,sparta1 indeed1 those who hold the     

highest magistracies are in accordance  
with the fact actually called elders4   
,but if you will take the trouble to    
read or listen to foreign history1 you  
will find that the mightiest ,states    
have been brought into peril by young   
men1 have been supported and restored by
 old4 ,the question occurs in the poet  
,naevius's ,sport3       ,pray1 who are 
those who brought your ,state      ,with
 such despatch to meet its fate8  ,there
 is a long answer1 but this is the chief
 point3       ,a crop of brand-new      
orators we grew1      ,and foolish1     
paltry lads who thought they knew4  ,for
 of course rashness is the note of      
youth1 prudence of old age4  #g4 ,but1  
it is said1 memory dwindles4 ,no doubt1 
unless you keep it in practice1 or if   
you happen to be somewhat dull by       
nature4 ,themistocles had the names of  
all his fellow-citizens by heart4 ,do   
you imagine that in his old age he used 
to address ,aristides as ,lysimachus8   
,for my part1 ,i know not only the      

present generation1 but their fathers   
also1 and their grandfathers4 ,nor have 
,i any fear of losing my memory by      
reading tombstones1 according to the    
vulgar superstition4 ,on the contrary1  
by reading them ,i renew my memory of   
those who are dead and gone4 ,nor1 in   
point of fact1 have ,i ever heard of any
 old man forgetting where he had hidden 
his money4 ,they remember everything    
that interests them3 when to answer to  
their bail1 business appointments1 who  
owes them money1 and to whom they owe   
it4 ,what about lawyers1 pontiffs1      
augurs1 philosophers1 when old8 ,what a 
multitude of things they remember6 ,old 
men retain their intellects well enough1
 if only they keep their minds active   
and fully employed4 ,nor is that the    
case only with men of high position and 
great office3 it applies equally to     
private life and peaceful pursuits4     
,sophocles composed tragedies to extreme
 old age2 and being believed to neglect 
the care of his property owing to his   

devotion to his art1 his sons brought   
him into court to get a judicial        
decision depriving him of the management
 of his property on the ground of weak  
intellect--just as in our law it is     
customary to deprive a paterfamilias of 
the management of his property if he is 
squandering it4 ,there--upon the old    
poet is said to have read to the judges 
the play he had on hand and had just    
composed--the ,oedipus ,coloneus--and to
 have asked them whether they thought   
that the work of a man of weak          
intellect4 ,after the reading he was    
acquitted by the jury4 ,did old age then
 compel this man to become silent in his
 particular art1 or ,homer1 ,hesiod1    
,simonides1 or ,isocrates and ,gorgias  
whom ,i mentioned before1 or the        
founders of schools of philosophy1      
,pythagoras1 ,democritus1 ,plato1       
,xenocrates1 or later ,zeno and         
,cleanthus1 or ,diogenes the ,stoic1    
whom you too saw at ,rome8 ,is it not   
rather the case with all these that the 

active pursuit of study only ended with 
life8  ,but1 to pass over these sublime 
studies1 ,i can name some rustic ,romans
 from the ,sabine district1 neighbours  
and friends of my own1 without whose    
presence farm work of importance is     
scarcely ever performed--whether sowing1
 or harvesting or storing crops4 ,and   
yet in other things this is less        
surprising2 for no one is so old as to  
think that he may not live a year4 ,but 
they bestow their labour on what they   
know does not affect them in any case3  
,he plants his trees to serve a race to 
come1  as our poet ,statius says in his 
,comrades4 ,nor indeed would a farmer1  
however old1 hesitate to answer any one 
who asked him for whom he was planting3 
,for the immortal gods1 whose will it   
was that ,i should not merely receive   
these things from my ancestors1 but     
should also hand them on to the next    
generation4  #h4 ,that remark about the 
old man is better than the following3   
,if age brought nothing worse than this1

      ,it were enough to mar our bliss1 
,that he who bides for many years       
,sees much to shun and much for tears4  
,yes1 and perhaps much that gives him   
pleasure too4 ,besides1 as to subjects  
for tears1 he often comes upon them in  
youth as well4  ,a still more           
questionable sentiment in the same      
,caecilius is3       ,no greater misery 
can of age be told      ,than this3 be  
sure1 the young dislike the old4        
,delight in them is nearer the mark than
 dislike4 ,for just as old men1 if they 
are wise1 take pleasure in the society  
of young men of good parts1 and as old  
age is rendered less dreary for those   
who are courted and liked by the youth1 
so also do young men find pleasure in   
the maxims of the old1 by which they are
 drawn to the pursuit of excellence4    
,nor do ,i perceive that you find my    
society less pleasant than ,i do yours4 
,but this is enough to show you how1 so 
far from being listless and sluggish1   
old age is even a busy time1 always     

doing and attempting something1 of      
course of the same nature as each man's 
taste had been in the previous part of  
his life4 ,nay1 do not some even add to 
their stock of learning8 ,we see ,solon1
 for instance1 boasting in his poems    
that he grows old daily learning        
something new4 ,or again in my own case1
 it was only when an old man that ,i    
became acquainted with ,greek           
literature1 which in fact ,i absorbed   
with such avidity--in my yearning to    
quench1 as it were1 a long-continued    
thirst--that ,i became acquainted with  
the very facts which you see me now     
using as precedents4 ,when ,i heard what
 ,socrates had done about the lyre ,i   
should have liked for my part to have   
done that too1 for the ancients used to 
learn the lyre but1 at any rate1 ,i     
worked hard at literature4  #i4 ,nor1   
again1 do ,i now ,,miss ,,the ,,bodily  
,,strength ,,of ,a ,,young ,,man 7for   
that was the second point as to the     
disadvantages of old age7 any more than 

as a young man ,i missed the strength of
 a bull or an elephant4 ,you should use 
what you have1 and whatever you may     
chance to be doing1 do it with all your 
might4 ,what could be weaker than ,milo 
of ,croton's exclamation8 ,when in his  
old age he was watching some athletes   
practising in the course1 he is said to 
have looked at his arms and to have     
exclaimed with tears in his eyes3 ,ah   
well6 these are now as good as dead4    
,not a bit more so than yourself1 you   
trifler6 ,for at no time were you made  
famous by your real self1 but by chest  
and biceps4 ,sext4 ,aelius never gave   
vent to such a remark1 nor1 many years  
before him1 ,titus ,coruncanius1 nor1   
more recently1 ,p4 ,crassus--all of them
 learned juris-consults in active       
practice1 whose knowledge of their      
profession was maintained to their last 
breath4 ,i am afraid an orator does lose
 vigour by old age1 for his art is not a
 matter of the intellect alone1 but of  
lungs and bodily strength4 ,though as a 

rule that musical ring in the voice even
 gains in brilliance in a certain way as
 one grows old--certainly ,i have not   
yet lost it1 and you see my years4 ,yet 
after all the style of speech suitable  
to an old man is the quiet and          
unemotional1 and it often happens that  
the chastened and calm delivery of an   
old man eloquent secures a hearing4 ,if 
you cannot attain to that yourself1 you 
might still instruct a ,scipio and a    
,laelius4 ,for what is more charming    
than old age surrounded by the          
enthusiasm of youth8 ,shall we not allow
 old age even the strength to teach the 
young1 to train and equip them for all  
the duties of life8 ,and what can be a  
nobler employment8 ,for my part1 ,i used
 to think ,publius and ,gnaeus ,scipio  
and your two grandfathers1 ,l4 ,aemilius
 and ,p4 ,africanus1 fortunate men when 
,i saw them with a company of young     
nobles about them4 ,nor should we think 
any teachers of the fine arts otherwise 
than happy1 however much their bodily   

forces may have decayed and failed4 ,and
 yet that same failure of the bodily    
forces is more often brought about by   
the vices of youth than of old age2 for 
a dissolute and intemperate youth hands 
down the body to old age in a worn-out  
state4 ,xenophon's ,cyrus1 for instance1
 in his discourse delivered on his      
death-bed and at a very advanced age1   
says that he never perceived his old age
 to have become weaker than his youth   
had been4 ,i remember as a boy ,lucius  
,metellus1 who having been created      
,pontifex ,maximus four years after his 
second consulship1 held that office     
twenty-two years1 enjoying such         
excellent strength of body in the very  
last hours of his life as not to miss   
his youth4 ,i need not speak of myself2 
though that indeed is an old man's way  
and is generally allowed to my time of  
life4 ,don't you see in ,homer how      
frequently ,nestor talks of his own good
 qualities8 ,for he was living through a
 third generation2 nor had he any reason

 to fear that upon saying what was true 
about himself he should appear either   
over vain or talkative4 ,for1 as ,homer 
says1 from his lips flowed discourse    
sweeter than honey1 for which sweet     
breath he wanted no bodily strength4    
,and yet1 after all1 the famous leader  
of the ,greeks nowhere wishes to have   
ten men like ,ajax1 but like ,nestor3 if
 he could get them1 he feels no doubt of
 ,troy shortly falling4  #aj4 ,but to   
return to my own case3 ,i am in my      
eighty-fourth year4 ,i could wish that  
,i had been able to make the same boast 
as ,cyrus2 but1 after all1 ,i can say   
this3 ,i am not indeed as vigorous as ,i
 was as a private soldier in the ,punic 
war1 or as quaestor in the same war1 or 
as consul in ,spain1 and four years     
later when as a military tribune ,i took
 part in the engagement at ,thermopylae 
under the consul ,manius ,acilius       
,glabrio2 but yet1 as you see1 old age  
has not entirely destroyed my muscles1  
has not quite brought me to the ground4 

,the ,senate-house does not find all my 
vigour gone1 nor the rostra1 nor my     
friends1 nor my clients1 nor my foreign 
guests4 ,for ,i have never given in to  
that ancient and much-praised proverb3  
,old when young      ,is old for long4  
,for myself1 ,i had rather be an old man
 a somewhat shorter time than an old man
 before my time4 ,accordingly1 no one up
 to the present has wished to see me1 to
 whom ,i have been denied as engaged4   
,but1 it may be said1 ,i have less      
strength than either of you4 ,neither   
have you the strength of the centurion  
,t4 ,pontius3 is he the more eminent man
 on that account8 ,let there be only a  
proper husbanding of strength1 and let  
each man proportion his efforts to his  
powers4 ,such an one will assuredly not 
be possessed with any great regret for  
his loss of strength4 ,at ,olympia ,milo
 is said to have stepped into the course
 carrying a live ox on his shoulders4   
,which then of the two would you prefer 
to have given to you--bodily strength   

like that1 or intellectual strength like
 that of ,pythagoras8 ,in fine1 enjoy   
that blessing when you have it2 when it 
is gone1 don't wish it back--unless we  
are to think that young men should wish 
their childhood back1 and those somewhat
 older their youth6 ,the course of life 
is fixed1 and nature admits of its being
 run but in one way1 and only once2 and 
to each part of our life there is       
something specially seasonable2 so that 
the feebleness of children1 as well as  
the high spirit of youth1 the soberness 
of maturer years1 and the ripe wisdom of
 old age--all have a certain natural    
advantage which should be secured in its
 proper season4 ,i think you are        
informed1 ,scipio1 what your            
grandfather's foreign friend ,masinissa 
does to this day1 though ninety years   
old4 ,when he has once begun a journey  
on foot he does not mount his horse at  
all2 when on horseback he never gets off
 his horse4 ,by no rain or cold can he  
be induced to cover his head4 ,his body 

is absolutely free from unhealthy       
humours1 and so he still performs all   
the duties and functions of a king4     
,active exercise1 therefore1 and        
temperance can preserve some part of    
one's former strength even in old age4  
#aa4 ,bodily strength is wanting to old 
age2 but neither is bodily strength     
demanded from old men4 ,therefore1 both 
by law and custom1 men of my time of    
life are exempt from those duties which 
cannot be supported without bodily      
strength4 ,accordingly not only are we  
not forced to do what we cannot do2 we  
are not even obliged to do as much as we
 can4 ,but1 it will be said1 many old   
men are so feeble that they cannot      
perform any duty in life of any sort or 
kind4 ,that is not a weakness to be set 
down as peculiar to old age3 it is one  
shared by ill health4 ,how feeble was   
the son of ,p4 ,africanus1 who adopted  
you6 ,what weak health he had1 or rather
 no health at all6 ,if that had not been
 the case1 we should have had in him a  

second brilliant light in the political 
horizon2 for he had added a wider       
cultivation to his father's greatness of
 spirit4 ,what wonder1 then1 that old   
men are eventually feeble1 when even    
young men cannot escape it8 ,my dear    
,laelius and ,scipio1 we must stand up  
against old age and make up for its     
drawbacks by taking pains4 ,we must     
fight it as we should an illness4 ,we   
must look after our health1 use moderate
 exercise1 take just enough food and    
drink to recruit1 but not to overload1  
our strength4 ,nor is it the body alone 
that must be supported1 but the         
intellect and soul much more4 ,for they 
are like lamps3 unless you feed them    
with oil1 they too go out from old age4 
,again1 the body is apt to get gross    
from exercise2 but the intellect becomes
 nimbler by exercising itself4 ,for what
 ,caecilius means by old dotards of the 
comic stage are the credulous1 the      
forgetful1 and the slipshod4 ,these are 
faults that do not attach to old age as 

such1 but to a sluggish1 spiritless1 and
 sleepy old age4 ,young men are more    
frequently wanton and dissolute than old
 men2 but yet1 as it is not all young   
men that are so1 but the bad set among  
them1 even so senile folly--usually     
called imbecility--applies to old men of
 unsound character1 not to all4 ,appius 
governed four sturdy sons1 five         
daughters1 that great establishment1 and
 all those clients1 though he was both  
old and blind4 ,for he kept his mind at 
full stretch like a bow1 and never gave 
in to old age by growing slack4 ,he     
maintained not merely an influence1 but 
an absolute command over his family3 his
 slaves feared him1 his sons were in awe
 of him1 all loved him4 ,in that family1
 indeed1 ancestral custom and discipline
 were in full vigour4 ,the fact is that 
old age is respectable just as long as  
it asserts itself1 maintains its proper 
rights1 and is not enslaved to any one4 
,for as ,i admire a young man who has   
something of the old man in him1 so do  

,i an old one who has something of a    
young man4 ,the man who aims at this may
 possibly become old in body--in mind he
 never will4 ,i am now engaged in       
composing the seventh book of my        
,origins4 ,i collect all the records of 
antiquity4 ,the speeches delivered in   
all the celebrated cases which ,i have  
defended ,i am at this particular time  
getting into shape for publication4 ,i  
am writing treatises on augural1        
pontifical1 and civil law4 ,i am1       
besides1 studying hard at ,greek1 and   
after the manner of the                 
,pythagoreans--to keep my memory in     
working order--,i repeat in the evening 
whatever ,i have said1 heard1 or done in
 the course of each day4 ,these are the 
exercises of the intellect1 these the   
training grounds of the mind3 while ,i  
sweat and labour on these ,i don't much 
feel the loss of bodily strength4 ,i    
appear in court for my friends2 ,i      
frequently attend the ,senate and bring 
motions before it on my own             

responsibility1 prepared after deep and 
long reflection4 ,and these ,i support  
by my intellectual1 not my bodily       
forces4 ,and if ,i were not strong      
enough to do these things1 yet ,i should
 enjoy my sofa--imagining the very      
operations which ,i was now unable to   
perform4 ,but what makes me capable of  
doing this is my past life4 ,for a man  
who is always living in the midst of    
these studies and labours does not      
perceive when old age creeps upon him4  
,thus1 by slow and imperceptible degrees
 life draws to its end4 ,there is no    
sudden breakage2 it just slowly goes    
out4  #ab4 ,the third charge against old
 age is that it ,,lacks ,,sensual       
,,pleasures4 ,what a splendid service   
does old age render1 if it takes from us
 the greatest blot of youth6 ,listen1 my
 dear young friends1 to a speech of     
,archytas of ,tarentum1 among the       
greatest and most illustrious of men1   
which was put into my hands when as a   
young man ,i was at ,tarentum with ,q4  

,maximus4 ,no more deadly curse than    
sensual pleasure has been inflicted on  
mankind by nature1 to gratify which our 
wanton appetites are roused beyond all  
prudence or restraint4 ,it is a fruitful
 source of treasons1 revolutions1 secret
 communications with the enemy4 ,in     
fact1 there is no crime1 no evil deed1  
to which the appetite for sensual       
pleasures does not impel us4            
,fornications and adulteries1 and every 
abomination of that kind1 are brought   
about by the enticements of pleasure and
 by them alone4 ,intellect is the best  
gift of nature or ,god3 to this divine  
gift and endowment there is nothing so  
inimical as pleasure4 ,for when appetite
 is our master1 there is no place for   
self-control2 nor where pleasure reigns 
supreme can virtue hold its ground4 ,to 
see this more vividly1 imagine a man    
excited to the highest conceivable pitch
 of sensual pleasure4 ,it can be        
doubtful to no one that such a person1  
so long as he is under the influence of 

such excitation of the senses1 will be  
unable to use to any purpose either     
intellect1 reason1 or thought4          
,therefore nothing can be so execrable  
and so fatal as pleasure2 since1 when   
more than ordinarily violent and        
lasting1 it darkens all the light of the
 soul4  ,these were the words addressed 
by ,archytas to the ,samnite ,caius     
,pontius1 father of the man by whom the 
consuls ,spurius ,postumius and ,titus  
,veturius were beaten in the battle of  
,caudium4 ,my friend ,nearchus of       
,tarentum1 who had remained loyal to    
,rome1 told me that he had heard them   
repeated by some old men2 and that      
,plato the ,athenian was present1 who   
visited ,tarentum1 ,i find1 in the      
consulship of ,l4 ,camillus and ,appius 
,claudius4  ,what is the point of all   
this8 ,it is to show you that1 if we    
were unable to scorn pleasure by the aid
 of reason and philosophy1 we ought to  
have been very grateful to old age for  
depriving us of all inclination for that

 which it was wrong to do4 ,for pleasure
 hinders thought1 is a foe to reason1   
and1 so to speak1 blinds the eyes of the
 mind4 ,it is1 moreover1 entirely alien 
to virtue4 ,i was sorry to have to expel
 ,lucius1 brother of the gallant ,titus 
,flamininus1 from the ,senate seven     
years after his consulship2 but ,i      
thought it imperative to affix a stigma 
on an act of gross sensuality4 ,for when
 he was in ,gaul as consul1 he had      
yielded to the entreaties of his        
paramour at a dinner-party to behead a  
man who happened to be in prison        
condemned on a capital charge4 ,when his
 brother ,titus was ,censor1 who        
preceded me1 he escaped2 but ,i and     
,flaccus could not countenance an act of
 such criminal and abandoned lust1      
especially as1 besides the personal     
dishonour1 it brought disgrace on the   
,government4  #ac4 ,i have often been   
told by men older than myself1 who said 
that they had heard it as boys from old 
men1 that ,gaius ,fabricius was in the  

habit of expressing astonishment at     
having heard1 when envoy at the         
headquarters of king ,pyrrhus1 from the 
,thessalian ,cineas1 that there was a   
man of ,athens who professed to be a    
philosopher1 and affirmed that          
everything we did was to be referred to 
pleasure4 ,when he told this to ,manius 
,curius and ,publius ,decius1 they used 
to remark that they wished that the     
,samnites and ,pyrrhus himself would    
hold the same opinion4 ,it would be much
 easier to conquer them1 if they had    
once given themselves over to sensual   
indulgences4 ,manius ,curius had been   
intimate with ,p4 ,decius1 who four     
years before the former's consulship had
 devoted himself to death for the       
,republic4 ,both ,fabricius and         
,coruncanius knew him also1 and from the
 experience of their own lives1 as well 
as from the action of ,p4 ,decius1 they 
were of opinion that there did exist    
something intrinsically noble and great1
 which was sought for its own sake1 and 

at which all the best men aimed1 to the 
contempt and neglect of pleasure4 ,why  
then do ,i spend so many words on the   
subject of pleasure8 ,why1 because1 far 
from being a charge against old age1    
that it does not much feel the want of  
any pleasures1 it is its highest praise4
  ,but1 you will say1 it is deprived of 
the pleasures of the table1 the heaped  
up board1 the rapid passing of the      
wine-cup4 ,well1 then1 it is also free  
from headache1 disordered digestion1    
broken sleep4 ,but if we must grant     
pleasure something1 since we do not find
 it easy to resist its charms1--for     
,plato1 with happy inspiration1 calls   
pleasure vice's bait1 because of course 
men are caught by it as fish by a       
hook1--yet1 although old age has to     
abstain from extravagant banquets1 it is
 still capable of enjoying modest       
festivities4 ,as a boy ,i often used to 
see ,gaius ,duilius the son of ,marcus1 
then an old man1 returning from a       
dinner-party4 ,he thoroughly enjoyed the

 frequent use of torch and flute-player1
 distinctions which he had assumed      
though unprecedented in the case of a   
private person4 ,it was the privilege of
 his glory4 ,but why mention others8 ,i 
will come back to my own case4 ,to begin
 with1 ,i have always remained a member 
of a club--clubs1 you know1 were        
established in my quaestorship on the   
reception of the ,magna ,mater from     
,ida4 ,so ,i used to dine at their feast
 with the members of my club--on the    
whole with moderation1 though there was 
a certain warmth of temperament natural 
to my time of life2 but as that advances
 there is a daily decrease of all       
excitement4 ,nor was ,i1 in fact1 ever  
wont to measure my enjoyment even of    
these banquets by the physical pleasures
 they gave more than by the gathering   
and conversation of friends4 ,for it was
 a good idea of our ancestors to style  
the presence of guests at a             
dinner-table--seeing that it implied a  
community of enjoyment--a convivium1 a  

living together4 ,it is a better term   
than the ,greek words which mean a      
drinking together1 or1 an eating        
together4 ,for they would seem to give  
the preference to what is really the    
least important part of it4  #ad4 ,for  
myself1 owing to the pleasure ,i take in
 conversation1 ,i enjoy even banquets   
that begin early in the afternoon1 and  
not only in company with my             
contemporaries--of whom very few        
survive--but also with men of your age  
and with yourselves4 ,i am thankful to  
old age1 which has increased my avidity 
for conversation1 while it has removed  
that for eating and drinking4 ,but if   
anyone does enjoy these--not to seem to 
have proclaimed war against all pleasure
 without exception1 which is perhaps a  
feeling inspired by nature--,i fail to  
perceive even in these very pleasures   
that old age is entirely without the    
power of appreciation4 ,for myself1 ,i  
take delight even in the old-fashioned  
appointment of master of the feast2 and 

in the arrangement of the conversation1 
which according to ancestral custom is  
begun from the last place on the        
left-hand couch when the wine is brought
 in2 as also in the cups which1 as in   
,xenophon's banquet1 are small and      
filled by driblets2 and in the          
contrivance for cooling in summer1 and  
for warming by the winter sun or winter 
fire4 ,these things ,i keep up even     
among my ,sabine countrymen1 and every  
day have a full dinner-party of         
neighbours1 which we prolong as far into
 the night as we can with varied        
conversation4  ,but you may urge--there 
is not the same tingling sensation of   
pleasure in old men4 ,no doubt2 but     
neither do they miss it so much4 ,for   
nothing gives you uneasiness which you  
do not miss4 ,that was a fine answer of 
,sophocles to a man who asked him1 when 
in extreme old age1 whether he was still
 a lover4 ,heaven forbid6 he replied2 ,i
 was only too glad to escape from that1 
as though from a boorish and insane     

master4 ,to men indeed who are keen     
after such things it may possibly appear
 disagreeable and uncomfortable to be   
without them2 but to jaded appetites it 
is pleasanter to lack than to enjoy4    
,however1 he cannot be said to lack who 
does not want3 my contention is that not
 to want is the pleasanter thing4  ,but 
even granting that youth enjoys these   
pleasures with more zest2 in the first  
place1 they are insignificant things to 
enjoy1 as ,i have said2 and in the      
second place1 such as age is not        
entirely without1 if it does not possess
 them in profusion4 ,just as a man gets 
greater pleasure from ,ambivius ,turpio 
if seated in the front row at the       
theatre than if he was in the last1 yet1
 after all1 the man in the last row does
 get pleasure2 so youth1 because it     
looks at pleasures at closer quarters1  
perhaps enjoys itself more1 yet even old
 age1 looking at them from a distance1  
does enjoy itself well enough4 ,why1    
what blessings are these--that the soul1

 having served its time1 so to speak1 in
 the campaigns of desire and ambition1  
rivalry and hatred1 and all the         
passions1 should live in its own        
thoughts1 and1 as the expression goes1  
should dwell apart6 ,indeed1 if it has  
in store any of what ,i may call the    
food of study and philosophy1 nothing   
can be pleasanter than an old age of    
leisure4 ,we were witnesses to ,c4      
,gallus--a friend of your father's1     
,scipio--intent to the day of his death 
on mapping out the sky and land4 ,how   
often did the light surprise him while  
still working out a problem begun during
 the night6 ,how often did night find   
him busy on what he had begun at dawn6  
,how he delighted in predicting for us  
solar and lunar eclipses long before    
they occurred6 ,or again in studies of a
 lighter nature1 though still requiring 
keenness of intellect1 what pleasure    
,naevius took in his ,punic ,war6       
,plautus in his ,truculentus and        
,pseudolus6 ,i even saw ,livius         

,andronicus1 who1 having produced a play
 six years before ,i was born--in the   
consulship of ,cento and                
,tuditanus--lived till ,i had become a  
young man4 ,why speak of ,publius       
,licinius ,crassus's devotion to        
pontifical and civil law1 or of the     
,publius ,scipio of the present time1   
who within these last few days has been 
created ,pontifex ,maximus8 ,and yet ,i 
have seen all whom ,i have mentioned    
ardent in these pursuits when old men4  
,then there is ,marcus ,cethegus1 whom  
,ennius justly called ,persuasion's     
,marrow--with what enthusiasm did we see
 him exert himself in oratory even when 
quite old6 ,what pleasures are there in 
feasts1 games1 or mistresses comparable 
to pleasures such as these8 ,and they   
are all tastes1 too1 connected with     
learning1 which in men of sense and good
 education grow with their growth4 ,it  
is indeed an honourable sentiment which 
,solon expresses in a verse which ,i    
have quoted before--that he grew old    

learning many a fresh lesson every day4 
,than that intellectual pleasure none   
certainly can be greater4  #ae4 ,i come 
now to the pleasures of the farmer1 in  
which ,i take amazing delight4 ,these   
are not hindered by any extent of old   
age1 and seem to me to approach nearest 
to the ideal wise man's life4 ,for he   
has to deal with the earth1 which never 
refuses its obedience1 nor ever returns 
what it has received without usury2     
sometimes1 indeed1 with less1 but       
generally with greater interest4 ,for my
 part1 however1 it is not merely the    
thing produced1 but the earth's own     
force and natural productiveness that   
delight me4 ,for received in its bosom  
the seed scattered broadcast upon it1   
softened and broken up1 she first keeps 
it concealed therein 7hence the         
harrowing which accomplishes this gets  
its name from a word meaning to hide72  
next1 when it has been warmed by her    
heat and close pressure1 she splits it  
open and draws from it the greenery of  

the blade4 ,this1 supported by the      
fibres of the root1 little by little    
grows up1 and held upright by its       
jointed stalk is enclosed in sheaths1 as
 being still immature4 ,when it has     
emerged from them it produces an ear of 
corn arranged in order1 and is defended 
against the pecking of the smaller birds
 by a regular palisade of spikes4  ,need
 ,i mention the starting1 planting1 and 
growth of vines8 ,i can never have too  
much of this pleasure--to let you into  
the secret of what gives my old age     
repose and amusement4 ,for ,i say       
nothing here of the natural force which 
all things propagated from the earth    
possess--the earth which from that tiny 
grain in a fig1 or the grape-stone in a 
grape1 or the most minute seeds of the  
other cereals and plants1 produces such 
huge trunks and boughs4 ,mallet-shoots1 
slips1 cuttings1 quicksets1 layers--are 
they not enough to fill anyone with     
delight and astonishment8 ,the vine by  
nature is apt to fall1 and unless       

supported drops down to the earth2 yet  
in order to keep itself upright it      
embraces whatever it reaches with its   
tendrils as though they were hands4     
,then as it creeps on1 spreading itself 
in intricate and wild profusion1 the    
dresser's art prunes it with the knife  
and prevents it growing a forest of     
shoots and expanding to excess in every 
direction4 ,accordingly at the beginning
 of spring in the shoots which have been
 left there protrudes at each of the    
joints what is termed an eye4 ,from this
 the grape emerges and shows itself2    
which1 swollen by the juice of the earth
 and the heat of the sun1 is at first   
very bitter to the taste1 but afterwards
 grows sweet as it matures2 and being   
covered with tendrils is never without a
 moderate warmth1 and yet is able to    
ward off the fiery heat of the sun4 ,can
 anything be richer in product or more  
beautiful to contemplate8 ,it is not its
 utility only1 as ,i said before1 that  
charms me1 but the method of its        

cultivation and the natural process of  
its growth3 the rows of uprights1 the   
cross-pieces for the tops of the plants1
 the tying up of the vines and their    
propagation by layers1 the pruning1 to  
which ,i have already referred1 of some 
shoots1 the setting of others4 ,i need  
hardly mention irrigation1 or trenching 
and digging the soil1 which much        
increase its fertility4 ,as to the      
advantages of manuring ,i have spoken in
 my book on agriculture4 ,the learned   
,hesiod did not say a single word on    
this subject1 though he was writing on  
the cultivation of the soil2 yet ,homer1
 who in my opinion was many generations 
earlier1 represents ,laertes as         
softening his regret for his son by     
cultivating and manuring his farm4 ,nor 
is it only in cornfields and meadows and
 vineyards and plantations that a       
farmer's life is made cheerful4 ,there  
are the garden and the orchard1 the     
feeding of sheep1 the swarms of bees1   
endless varieties of flowers4 ,nor is it

 only planting out that charms3 there is
 also grafting--surely the most         
ingenious invention ever made by        
husbandmen4  #af4 ,i might continue my  
list of the delights of country life2   
but even what ,i have said ,i think is  
somewhat over long4 ,however1 you must  
pardon me2 for farming is a very        
favourite hobby of mine1 and old age is 
naturally rather garrulous--for ,i would
 not be thought to acquit it of all     
faults4  ,well1 it was in a life of this
 sort that ,manius ,curius1 after       
celebrating triumphs over the ,samnites1
 the ,sabines1 and ,pyrrhus1 spent his  
last days4 ,when ,i look at his         
villa--for it is not far from my own--,i
 never can enough admire the man's own  
frugality or the spirit of the age4 ,as 
,curius was sitting at his hearth the   
,samnites1 who brought him a large sum  
of gold1 were repulsed by him2 for it   
was not1 he said1 a fine thing in his   
eyes to possess gold1 but to rule those 
who possessed it4 ,could such a high    

spirit fail to make old age pleasant8   
,but to return to farmers--not to wander
 from my own metier4 ,in those days     
there were senators1 i4 e4 old men1 on  
their farms4 ,for ,l4 ,quinctius        
,cincinnatus was actually at the plough 
when word was brought him that he had   
been named ,dictator4 ,it was by his    
order as ,dictator1 by the way1 that ,c4
 ,servilius ,ahala1 the ,master of the  
,horse1 seized and put to death ,spurius
 ,maelius when attempting to obtain     
royal power4 ,curius as well as other   
old men used to receive their summonses 
to attend the ,senate in their          
farm-houses1 from which circumstance the
 summoners were called viatores or      
travellers4 ,was these men's old age an 
object of pity who found their pleasure 
in the cultivation of the land8 ,in my  
opinion1 scarcely any life can be more  
blessed1 not alone from its utility 7for
 agriculture is beneficial to the whole 
human race71 but also as much from the  
mere pleasure of the thing1 to which ,i 

have already alluded1 and from the rich 
abundance and supply of all things      
necessary for the food of man and for   
the worship of the gods above4 ,so1 as  
these are objects of desire to certain  
people1 let us make our peace with      
pleasure4 ,for the good and hard-working
 farmer's wine-cellar and oil-store1 as 
well as his larder1 are always well     
filled1 and his whole farm-house is     
richly furnished4 ,it abounds in pigs1  
goats1 lambs1 fowls1 milk1 cheese1 and  
honey4 ,then there is the garden1 which 
the farmers themselves call their second
 flitch4 ,a zest and flavour is added to
 all these by hunting and fowling in    
spare hours4 ,need ,i mention the       
greenery of meadows1 the rows of trees1 
the beauty of vineyard and olive-grove8 
,i will put it briefly3 nothing can     
either furnish necessaries more richly1 
or present a fairer spectacle1 than     
well-cultivated land4 ,and to the       
enjoyment of that1 old age does not     
merely present no hindrance--it actually

 invites and allures to it4 ,for where  
else can it better warm itself1 either  
by basking in the sun or by sitting by  
the fire1 or at the proper time cool    
itself more wholesomely by the help of  
shade or water8 ,let the young keep     
their arms then to themselves1 their    
horses1 spears1 their foils and ball1   
their swimming baths and running path4  
,to us old men let them1 out of the many
 forms of sport1 leave dice and         
counters2 but even that as they choose1 
since old age can be quite happy without
 them4  #ag4 ,xenophon's books are very 
useful for many purposes4 ,pray go on   
reading them with attention1 as you have
 ever done4 ,in what ample terms is     
agriculture lauded by him in the book   
about husbanding one's property1 which  
is called ,oceonomicus6 ,but to show you
 that he thought nothing so worthy of a 
prince as the taste for cultivating the 
soil1 ,i will translate what ,socrates  
says to ,critobulus in that book3  ,when
 that most gallant ,lacedaemonian       

,lysander came to visit the ,persian    
prince ,cyrus at ,sardis1 so eminent for
 his character and the glory of his     
rule1 bringing him presents from his    
allies1 he treated ,lysander in all ways
 with courteous familiarity and         
kindness1 and1 among other things1 took 
him to see a certain park carefully     
planted4 ,lysander expressed admiration 
of the height of the trees and the exact
 arrangement of their rows in the       
quincunx1 the careful cultivation of the
 soil1 its freedom from weeds1 and the  
sweetness of the odours exhaled from the
 flowers1 and went on to say that what  
he admired was not the industry only1   
but also the skill of the man by whom   
this had been planned and laid out4     
,cyrus replied3 ',well1 it was ,i who   
planned the whole thing these rows are  
my doing1 the laying out is all mine2   
many of the trees were even planted by  
own hand4' ,then ,lysander1 looking at  
his purple robe1 the brilliance of his  
person1 and his adornment ,persian      

fashion with gold and many jewels1 said3
 ',people are quite right1 ,cyrus1 to   
call you happy1 since the advantages of 
high fortune have been joined to an     
excellence like yours4'  ,this kind of  
good fortune1 then1 it is in the power  
of old men to enjoy2 nor is age any bar 
to our maintaining pursuits of every    
other kind1 and especially of           
agriculture1 to the very extreme verge  
of old age4 ,for instance1 we have it on
 record that ,m4 ,valerius ,corvus kept 
it up to his hundredth year1 living on  
his land and cultivating it after his   
active career was over1 though between  
his first and sixth consulships there   
was an interval of six and forty years4 
,so that he had an official career      
lasting the number of years which our   
ancestors defined as coming between     
birth and the beginning of old age4     
,moreover1 that last period of his old  
age was more blessed than that of his   
middle life1 inasmuch as he had greater 
influence and less labour4 ,for the     

crowning grace of old age is influence4 
,how great was that of ,l4 ,caecilius   
,metellus6 ,how great that of ,atilius  
,calatinus1 over whom the famous epitaph
 was placed1 ,very many classes agree in
 deeming this to have been the very     
first man of the nation6 ,the line cut  
on his tomb is well known4 ,it is       
natural1 then1 that a man should have   
had influence1 in whose praise the      
verdict of history is unanimous4 ,again1
 in recent times1 what a great man was  
,publius ,crassus1 ,pontifex ,maximus1  
and his successor in the same office1   
,m4 ,lepidus6 ,i need scarcely mention  
,paulus or ,africanus1 or1 as ,i did    
before1 ,maximus4 ,it was not only their
 senatorial utterances that had weight3 
their least gesture had it also4 ,in    
fact1 old age1 especially when it has   
enjoyed honours1 has an influence worth 
all the pleasures of youth put together4
  #ah4 ,but throughout my discourse     
remember that my panegyric applies to an
 old age that has been established on   

foundations laid by youth4 ,from which  
may be deduced what ,i once said with   
universal applause1 that it was a       
wretched old age that had to defend     
itself by speech4 ,neither white hairs  
nor wrinkles can at once claim influence
 in themselves3 it is the honourable    
conduct of earlier days that is rewarded
 by possessing influence at the last4   
,even things generally regarded as      
trifling and matters of course--being   
saluted1 being courted1 having way made 
for one1 people rising when one         
approaches1 being escorted to and from  
the forum1 being referred to for        
advice--all these are marks of respect1 
observed among us and in other          
,states--always most sedulously where   
the moral tone is highest4 ,they say    
that ,lysander the ,spartan1 whom ,i    
have mentioned before1 used to remark   
that ,sparta was the most dignified home
 for old age2 for that nowhere was more 
respect paid to years1 no-where was old 
age held in higher honour4 ,nay1 the    

story is told of how when a man of      
advanced years came into the theatre at 
,athens when the games were going on1 no
 place was given him anywhere in that   
large assembly by his own countrymen2   
but when he came near the               
,lacedaemonians1 who as ambassadors had 
a fixed place assigned to them1 they    
rose as one man out of respect for him1 
and gave the veteran a seat4 ,when they 
were greeted with rounds of applause    
from the whole audience1 one of them    
remarked3  ,the ,athenians know what is 
right1 but will not do it4 ,there are   
many excellent rules in our augural     
college1 but among the best is one which
 affects our subject--that precedence in
 speech goes by seniority2 and augurs   
who are older are preferred only to     
those who have held higher office1 but  
even to those who are actually in       
possession of imperium4 ,what then are  
the physical pleasures to be compared   
with the reward of influence8 ,those who
 have employed it with distinction      

appear to me to have played the drama of
 life to its end1 and not to have broken
 down in the last act like unpractised  
players4  ,but1 it will be said1 old men
 are fretful1 fidgety1 ill-tempered1 and
 disagreeable4 ,if you come to that1    
they are also avaricious4 ,but these are
 faults of character1 not of the time of
 life4 ,and1 after all1 fretfulness and 
the other faults ,i mentioned admit of  
some excuse--not1 indeed1 a complete    
one1 but one that may possibly pass     
muster3 they think themselves neglected1
 looked down upon1 mocked1 ,besides with
 bodily weakness every rub is a source  
of pain4 ,yet all these faults are      
softened both by good character and good
 education4 ,illustrations of this may  
be found in real life1 as also on the   
stage in the case of the brothers in the
 ,adeiphi4 ,what harshness in the one1  
what gracious manners in the other ,the 
fact is that1 just as it is not every   
wine1 so it is not every life1 that     
turns sour from keeping1 ,serious       

gravity ,i approve of in old age1 but1  
as in other things1 it must be within   
due limits3 bitterness ,i can in no case
 approve4 ,what the object of senile    
avarice may be ,i cannot conceive4 ,for 
can there be anything more absurd than  
to seek more journey money1 the less    
there remains of the journey8  #ai4     
,there remains the fourth reason1 which 
more than anything else appears to      
torment men of my age and keep them in a
 flutter--,,the ,,nearness ,,of ,,death1
 which1 it must be allowed1 cannot be   
far from an old man4 ,but what a poor   
dotard must he be who has not learnt in 
the course of so long a life that death 
is not a thing to be feared8 ,death1    
that is either to be totally            
disregarded1 if it entirely extinguishes
 the soul1 or is even to be desired1 if 
it brings him where he is to exist      
forever4 ,a third alternative1 at any   
rate1 cannot possibly be discovered4    
,why then should ,i be afraid if ,i am  
destined either not to be miserable     

after death or even to be happy8 ,after 
all1 who is such a fool as to feel      
certain--however young he may be--that  
he will be alive in the evening8 ,nay1  
that time of life has many more chances 
of death than ours1 ,young men more     
easily contract diseases2 their         
illnesses are more serious2 their       
treatment has to be more severe4        
,accordingly1 only a few arrive at old  
age4 ,if that were not so1 life would be
 conducted better and more wisely2 for  
it is in old men that thought1 reason1  
and prudence are to be found2 and if    
there had been no old men1 ,states would
 never have existed at all4 ,but ,i     
return to the subject of the imminence  
of death4 ,what sort of charge is this  
against old age1 when you see that it is
 shared by youth8 ,i had reason in the  
case of my excellent son--as you had1   
,scipio1 in that of your brothers1 who  
were expected to attain the highest     
honours--to realise that death is common
 to every time of life4 ,yes1 you will  

say2 but a young man expects to live    
long2 an old man cannot expect to do so4
 ,well1 he is a fool to expect it4 ,for 
what can be more foolish than to regard 
the uncertain as certain1 the false as  
true8 ,an old man has nothing even to   
hope4 ,ah1 but it is just there that he 
is in a better position than a young    
man1 since what the latter only hopes he
 has obtained4 ,the one wishes to live  
long2 the other has lived long4  ,and   
yet1 good heaven6 what is long in a     
man's life8 ,for grant the utmost limit3
 let us expect an age like that of the  
,king of the ,tartessi4 ,for there was1 
as ,i find recorded1 a certain          
,agathonius at ,gades who reigned eighty
 years and lived a hundred and twenty4  
,but to my mind nothing seems even long 
in which there is any last1 for when    
that arrives1 then all the past has     
slipped away--only that remains to which
 you have attained by virtue and        
righteous actions4 ,hours indeed1 and   
days and months and years depart1 nor   

does past time ever return1 nor can the 
future be known4 ,whatever time each is 
granted for life1 with that he is bound 
to be content4 ,an actor1 in order to   
earn approval1 is not bound to perform  
the play from beginning to end2 let him 
only satisfy the audience in whatever   
act he appears4 ,nor need a wise man go 
on to the concluding plaudite4 ,for a   
short term of life is long enough for   
living well and honourably4 ,but if you 
go farther1 you have no more right to   
grumble than farmers do because the     
charm of the spring season is past and  
the summer and autumn have come4 ,for   
the word spring in a way suggests youth1
 and points to the harvest to be3 the   
other seasons are suited for the reaping
 and storing of the crops4 ,now the     
harvest of old age is1 as ,i have often 
said1 the memory and rich store of      
blessings laid up in easier life4       
,again1 all things that accord with     
nature are to be counted as good4 ,but  
what can be more in accordance with     

nature than for old men to die8 ,a      
thing1 indeed1 which also befalls young 
men1 though nature revolts and fights   
against it4 ,accordingly1 the death of  
young men seems to me like putting out a
 great fire with a deluge of water2 but 
old men die like a fire going out       
because it has burnt down of its own    
nature without artificial means4 ,again1
 just as apples when unripe are torn    
from trees1 but when ripe and mellow    
drop down1 so it is violence that takes 
life from young men1 ripeness from old4 
,this ripeness is so delightful to me1  
that1 as ,i approach nearer to death1 ,i
 seem as it were to be sighting land1   
and to be coming to port at last after a
 long voyage4  #bj4 ,again1 there is no 
fixed borderline for old age1 and you   
are making a good and proper use of it  
as long as you can satisfy the call of  
duty and disregard death4 ,the result of
 this is1 that old age is even more     
confident and courageous than youth4    
,that is the meaning of ,solon's answer 

to the tyrant ,pisistratus4 ,when the   
latter asked him what he relied upon in 
opposing him with such boldness1 he is  
said to have replied1 ,on my old age4   
,but that end of life is the best1 when1
 without the intellect or senses being  
impaired1 ,nature herself takes to      
pieces her own handiwork which she also 
put together4 ,just as the builder of a 
ship or a house can break them up more  
easily than any one else1 so the nature 
that knit together the human frame can  
also best unfasten it4 ,moreover1 a     
thing freshly glued together is always  
difficult to pull asunder2 if old1 this 
is easily done4  ,the result is that the
 short time of life left to them is not 
to be grasped at by old men with greedy 
eagerness1 or abandoned without cause4  
,pythagoras forbids us1 without an order
 from our commander1 that is ,god1 to   
desert life's fortress and outpost4     
,solon's epitaph1 indeed1 is that of a  
wise man1 in which he says that he does 
not wish his death to be unaccompanied  

by the sorrow and lamentations of his   
friends4 ,he wants1 ,i suppose1 to be   
beloved by them4 ,but ,i rather think   
,ennius says better3  ,none grace me    
with their tears1 nor weeping loud ,make
 sad my funeral rites6  ,he holds that a
 death is not a subject for mourning    
when it is followed by immortality4     
,again1 there may possibly be some      
sensation of dying and that only for a  
short time1 especially in the case of an
 old man3 after death1 indeed1 sensation
 is either what one would desire1 or it 
disappears altogether4 ,but to disregard
 death is a lesson which must be studied
 from our youth up2 for unless that is  
learnt1 no one can have a quiet mind4   
,for die we certainly must1 and that too
 without being certain whether it may   
not be this very day4 ,as death1        
therefore1 is hanging over our head     
every hour1 how can a man ever be       
unshaken in soul if he fears it8  ,but  
on this theme ,i don't think ,i need    
much enlarge3 when ,i remember what     

,lucius ,brutus did1 who was killed     
while defending his country2 or the two 
,decii1 who spurred their horses to a   
gallop and met a voluntary death2 or ,m4
 ,atilius ,regulus1 who left his home to
 confront a death of torture1 rather    
than break the word which he had pledged
 to the enemy2 or the two ,scipios1 who 
determined to block the ,carthaginian   
advance even with their own bodies2 or  
your grandfather ,lucius ,paulus1 who   
paid with his life for the rashness of  
his colleague in the disgrace at        
,cannae2 or ,m4 ,marcellus1 whose death 
not even the most bloodthirsty of       
enemies would allow to go without the   
honour of burial4 ,it is enough to      
recall that our legions 7as ,i have     
recorded in my ,origins7 have often     
marched with cheerful and lofty spirit  
to ground from which they believed that 
they would never return4 ,that1         
therefore1 which young men--not only    
uninstructed1 but absolutely            
ignorant--treat as of no account1 shall 

men who are neither young nor ignorant  
shrink from in terror8 ,as a general    
truth1 as it seems to me1 it is         
weariness of all pursuits that creates  
weariness of life4 ,there are certain   
pursuits adapted to childhood3 do young 
men miss them8 ,there are others suited 
to early manhood3 does that settled time
 of life called middle age ask for them8
 ,there are others1 again1 suited to    
that age1 but not looked for in old age4
 ,there are1 finally1 some which belong 
to ,old age4 ,therefore1 as the pursuits
 of the earlier ages have their time for
 disappearing1 so also have those of old
 age4 ,and when that takes place1 a     
satiety of life brings on the ripe time 
for death4  #ba4 ,for ,i do not see why 
,i should not venture to tell you my    
personal opinion as to death1 of which  
,i seem to myself to have a clearer     
vision in proportion as ,i am nearer to 
it4 ,i believe1 ,scipio and ,laelius1   
that your fathers--those illustrious men
 and my dearest friends--are still      

alive1 and that too with a life which   
alone deserves the name4 ,for as long as
 we are imprisoned in this framework of 
the body1 we perform a certain function 
and laborious work assigned us by fate4 
,the soul1 in fact1 is of heavenly      
origin1 forced down from its home in the
 highest1 and1 so to speak1 buried in   
earth1 a place quite opposed to its     
divine nature and its immortality4 ,but 
,i suppose the immortal gods to have    
sown souls broadcast in human bodies1   
that there might be some to survey the  
world1 and while contemplating the order
 of the heavenly bodies to imitate it in
 the unvarying regularity of their life4
 ,nor is it only reason and arguments   
that have brought me to this belief1 but
 the great fame and authority of the    
most distinguished philosophers4 ,i used
 to be told that ,pythagoras and the    
,pythagoreans--almost natives of our    
country1 who in old times had been      
called the ,italian school of           
philosophers--never doubted that we had 

souls drafted from the universal ,divine
 intelligence4 ,i used besides to have  
pointed out to me the discourse         
delivered by ,socrates on the last day  
of his life upon the immortality of the 
soul--,socrates who was pronounced by   
the oracle at ,delphi to be the wisest  
of men4 ,i need say no more4 ,i have    
convinced myself1 and ,i hold--in view  
of the rapid movement of the soul1 its  
vivid memory of the past and its        
prophetic knowledge of the future1 its  
many accomplishments1 its vast range of 
knowledge1 its numerous discoveries     
--that a nature embracing such varied   
gifts cannot itself be mortal4 ,and     
since the soul is always in motion and  
yet has no external source of motion1   
for it is self-moved1 ,i conclude that  
it will also have no end to its motion1 
because it is not likely ever to abandon
 itself4 ,again1 since the nature of the
 soul is not composite1 nor has in it   
any admixture that is not homogeneous   
and similar1 ,i conclude that it is     

indivisible1 and1 if indivisible1 that  
it cannot perish4 ,it is again a strong 
proof of men knowing most things before 
birth1 that when mere children they     
grasp innumerable facts with such speed 
as to show that they are not then taking
 them in for the first time1 but        
remembering and recalling them4 ,this is
 roughly ,plato's argument4  #bb4 ,once 
more in ,xenophon we have the elder     
,cyrus on his deathbed speaking as      
follows3--  ,do not suppose1 my dearest 
sons1 that when ,i have left you ,i     
shall be nowhere and no one4 ,even when 
,i was with you1 you did not see my     
soul1 but knew that it was in this body 
of mine from what ,i did4 ,believe then 
that it is still the same1 even though  
you see it not4 ,the honours paid to    
illustrious men had not continued to    
exist after their death1 had the souls  
of these very men not done something to 
make us retain our recollection of them 
beyond the ordinary time4 ,for myself1  
,i never could be persuaded that souls  

while in mortal bodies were alive1 and  
died directly they left them2 nor1 in   
fact1 that the soul only lost all       
intelligence when it left the           
unintelligent body4 ,i believe rather   
that when1 by being liberated from all  
corporeal admixture1 it has begun to be 
pure and undefiled1 it is then that it  
becomes wise4 ,and again1 when man's    
natural frame is resolved into its      
elements by death1 it is clearly seen   
whither each of the other elements      
departs3 for they all go to the place   
from which they came3 but the soul alone
 is invisible alike when present and    
when departing4 ,once more1 you see that
 nothing is so like death as sleep4 ,and
 yet it is in sleepers that souls most  
clearly reveal their divine nature2 for 
they foresee many events when they are  
allowed to escape and are left free4    
,this shows what they are likely to be  
when they have completely freed         
themselves from the fetters of the body4
 ,wherefore1 if these things are so1    

obey me as a god4 ,but if my soul is to 
perish with my body1 nevertheless do you
 from awe of the gods1 who guard and    
govern this fair universe1 preserve my  
memory by the loyalty and piety of your 
lives4  #bc4 ,such are the words of the 
dying ,cyrus4 ,i will now1 with your    
good leave1 look at home4 ,no one1 my   
dear ,scipio1 shall ever persuade me    
that your father ,paulus and your two   
grandfathers ,paulus and ,africanus1 or 
the father of ,africanus1 or his uncle1 
or many other illustrious men not       
necessary to mention1 would have        
attempted such lofty deeds as to be     
remaindered by posterity1 had they not  
seen in their minds that future ages    
concerned them4 ,do you suppose--to take
 an old man's privilege of a little     
self-praise--that ,i should have been   
likely to undertake such heavy labours  
by day and night1 at home and abroad1 if
 ,i had been destined to have the same  
limit to my glory as to my life8 ,had it
 not been much better to pass an age of 

ease and repose without any labour or   
exertion8 ,but my soul1 ,i know not how1
 refusing to be kept down1 ever fixed   
its eyes upon future ages1 as though    
from a conviction that it would begin to
 live only when it had left the body4   
,but had it not been the case that souls
 were immortal1 it would not have been  
the souls of all the best men that made 
the greatest efforts after an           
immortality of fame4  ,again1 is there  
not the fact that the wisest man ever   
dies with the greatest cheerfulness1 the
 most unwise with the least8 ,don't you 
think that the soul which has the       
clearer and longer sight sees that it is
 starting for better things1 while the  
soul whose vision is dimmer does not see
 it8 ,for my part1 ,i am transported    
with the desire to see your fathers1 who
 were the object of my reverence and    
affection4 ,nor is it only those whom ,i
 knew that ,i long to see2 it is those  
also of whom ,i have been told and have 
read1 whom ,i have myself recorded in my

 history4 ,when ,i am setting out for   
that1 there is certainly no one who will
 find it easy to draw me back1 or boil  
me up again like second ,pelios4 ,nay1  
if some god should grant me to renew my 
childhood from my present age and once  
more to be crying in my cradle1 ,i would
 firmly refuse2 nor should ,i in truth  
be willing1 after having1 as it were1   
run the full course1 to be recalled from
 the winning--crease to the barriers4   
,for what blessing has life to offer8   
,should we not rather say what labour8  
,but granting that it has1 at any rate  
it has after all a limit either to      
enjoyment or to existence4 ,i don't wish
 to depreciate life1 as many men and    
good philosophers have often done2 nor  
do ,i regret having lived1 for ,i have  
done so in a way that lets me think that
 ,i was not born in vain4 ,but ,i quit  
life as ,i would an inn1 not as ,i would
 a home4 ,for nature has given us a     
place of entertainment1 not of          
residence4  ,oh glorious day when ,i    

shall set out to join that heavenly     
conclave and company of souls1 and      
depart from the turmoil and impurities  
of this world6 ,for ,i shall not go to  
join only those whom ,i have before     
mentioned1 but also my son ,cato1 than  
whom no better man was ever born1 nor   
one more conspicuous for piety4 ,his    
body was burnt by me1 though mine ought1
 on the contrary1 to have been burnt by 
him2 but his spirit1 not abandoning1 but
 ever looking back upon me1 has         
certainly gone whither he saw that ,i   
too must come4 ,i was thought to bear   
that loss heroically1 not that ,i really
 bore it without distress1 but ,i found 
my own consolation in the thought that  
the parting and separation between us   
was not to be for long4  ,it is by these
 means1 my dear ,scipio1--for you said  
that you and ,laelius were wont to      
express surprise on this point1--that my
 old age sits lightly on me1 and is not 
only not oppressive but even delightful4
 ,but if ,i am wrong in thinking the    

human soul immortal1 ,i am glad to be   
wrong2 nor will ,i allow the mistake    
which gives me so much pleasure to be   
wrested from me as long as ,i live4 ,but
 if when dead1 as some insignificant    
philosophers think1 ,i am to be without 
sensation1 ,i am not afraid of dead     
philosophers deriding my errors4 ,again1
 if we are not to be immortal1 it is    
nevertheless what a man must wish--to   
have his life end at its proper time4   
,for nature puts a limit to living as to
 everything else4 ,now1 old age is as it
 were the playing out of the drama1 the 
full fatigue of which we should shun1   
especially when we also feel that we    
have had more than enough of it4  ,this 
is all ,i had to say on old age4 ,i pray
 that you may arrive at it1 that you may
 put my words to a practical test4