Introduction:


Laelius' presentation in Chapter 6, immediately preceding Chapter 7, may be summarized as follows:

He asserts that, with the exception of wisdom, "no greater good than friendship was given to mankind by the immortal gods." He notes that virtue is the basis on which true friendship is founded. He explains that in his discussion he will refer to real men, such as Paulus, Cato, and Scipio, as his standards, rather than the ideal abstractions of philosophers.

Chapter 6 ends with Laelius' claim that in all circumstances of one's life, friendship is numquam intempestiva, numquam molesta, "never untimely, never bothersome," and that it enhances one's success and diminishes the effect of one's adversity.

Ostensibly a dialogue, Laelius' young interlocutors don't speak for long stretches of text. For those who are interested, see Chapter 7.25 , which is not included here.


Part 1

CUM...TUM: In this parallel construction, cum introduces a more general descriptive clause in the subjunctive, while tum introduces the more particular-- and therefore stronger-- assertion in the indicative. In order to capture the implied contrast between the two statements, try one of the following: "as...so," "since...then," or "while...." (in which case you do not translate tum at all) .

AMICITIA ... ILLA: the subject of all the verbs in the sentence: contineat, praestat, praelucet, patitur.

BONAM SPEM PRAELUCET: here the verb praeluceo, usually intransitive, takes an object. Cicero is using the metaphor of a torch or beacon; translate "send good hope as a light."


Part 2

VERUM: note the emphasis on verum, effected by its being the first word in the sentence. Thus, not just any friend, but a verum amicum.
QUI: the subject of the relative clause is to be found in the second intuetur: the unexpressed [is].
EXEMPLAR:While it is necessary to select one of the meanings of this word in your translation, by writing tamquam exemplar aliquod, Cicero is encouraging you not to be litteral, but to consider the various nuances of the word. Cicero apparently found the idea of a friend as an "alter ego" or "other self" a powerful one, for he repeats and reformulates this sentiment later in Amicitia 21.80: est enim is [verus amicus] qui est tamquam alter idem.
ABSENTES: This is the first of four subject-verb pairs which are linked by et in parallel construction: the plural subject, either a substantive participle or an adjective (supply amici as the missing noun), precedes its verb. Apparent contradictions, when viewed from a particular perspective, they are perceived as true.

Part 3
TANTUS: What follows is an explanation of the paradoxical statement mortui vivunt.

EOS: refers back to mortui. They are referred to in the following clause by illorum ("those former ones," i.e., the noun furthest away).

AMICORUM: refers back to vivunt. They are referred to in the following clause as horum ("these latter ones," i.e., the subject closer).

EX QUO: literally "from which fact," but better "on account of which."

BEATA...LAUDABILIS: translate these as predicate adjectives.

QUOD SI: translate "but if."

EXEMERIS: Latin tends to be more precise with verb tenses in conditions than English. You may translate this in the present tense.

Part 4

ID: The pronoun refers back to the idea (quanta vis) discussed in the previous sentence and is further identified in the clause following. Translate "this idea," with both intellegitur and potest.

QUANTA VIS SIT: an indirect question, which can be understood both with intellegitur and percipi potest.

AMICITIAE...DISCORDIIS: These references will become clearer in the passage below, which explains the physical theory to which Laelius is alluding.

QUAE NON: Cicero has chosen not the expected result clause (note tam), but a relative clause of characteristic.

Part 5

EX QUO: An idiomatic expression often used as a connective by Cicero. Translate "from this," as he means to continue his discussion of the importance of amicitia in the next sentence.

AGRIGENTINUM: The famous Greek philosopher-poet, Empedocles of Acragas (in Sicily), was active in the mid 5th century BCE. He posited that the universe was formed out of four basic elements (earth, air, fire, and water) and that change took place through the opposing movements of two principles, which Cicero translates into Latin as amicitia (attraction or bonding) and discordia (repulsion or division).

QUAE: introduces a relative clause of characteristic. Cicero summarizes Empedocles' message here in a particularly concise and convoluted form, perhaps to convey the complexity of thought of the original. This reorganization of the words may help you translate the rest of the sentence:

vaticinatum [esse]
amicitiam contrahere ea [et] discordiam dissipare ea
quae constarent quaeque moverentur
in rerum natura totoque mundo.


Part 6
HOC: refers to Empedocles' teachings on the power (vis) of friendship.
AMICI: grammatically, this is a subjective genitive with officium, but its sense extends to periculis as well. Its placement in the sentence between the two words makes visible the relationship between the favor and the dangers.

IN: Translate "for" here.


Part 7
QUI CLAMORES: supply the verb erant, for this is an exclamation.

CAVEA: The cavea, the curved portion of the theater reserved for audience seating, in Laelius' and Pacuvius' day would have been only a temporary wooden structure. In 55 BCE Pompey gave Rome its first permanent theater. In Augustan times, the seating reflected the divisions of the classes: the upper classes sat front and center; the lower classes sat above and behind them; women and slaves sat in the top rows.

M. PACUVIUS: (220-132 BCE) The nephew of Ennius, the father of Roman poetry. The first Roman poet to specialize in tragedy, he was very popular in his day. Only 13 titles of his tragedies are known, but his work was highly esteemed in Rome into the early Empire.

FABULA: Laelius' proof that amicitia is recognized by all is the approving reaction of the Roman audience to a scene from Pacuvius' celebrated adaptation of Euripides' Iphigenia in Tauris. In it, Orestes and Pylades react nobly to the news that their royal captor intends to sacrifice Orestes: each claims to be Orestes in order to protect the other.

CUM: Translate "when."

ESSE: the infinitives are in indirect statement, introduced by diceret and perseveraret.


Part 8

PLAUDEBANT: Cicero, too, was moved --perhaps as much by the Roman audience's response as by the scene--for he related this same story in a somewhat different version in an earlier work (de Finibus V.63).
IN RE FICTA: Cicero wonders how the audience would act in their own lives (in vera).

FACTUROS FUISSE: the subject of this verb is [eos] stantes, understood from the prior sentence.
QUOD: the antecedent id follows but should be translated first.


Part 9
SI VIDEBITUR: an idiom equivalent to si placet; translate "if you please" (literally, "if it will seem good").
QUAERITOTE: Laelius ends his monologue de amicitia quid sentirem, thus giving Fannius and Scaevola a brief opportunity to speak. They praise him for his words and urge him to continue his reflections on friendship, as he has indicated that there is much more to be said and they wish to hear it from him.