quam ex hospitio, non tamquam ex domo; commorandi enim natura deversorium nobis, non habitandi locum dedit.

"I do not regret my past life, for I have so lived that I do not consider my existence in vain; and when life ends I shall depart as from an inn, not from a home; for nature seems to me to have ordained this station, not for a permanent abode, but for a transitory dwelling." — De Senectute, 23.

The Soul. Immortality.

Quod si in hoc erro, quod animos hominum immortales. esse credam, lubenter erro: nec mihi hunc errorem, quo delector, dum vivo, extorqueri volo.

"But if I should be mistaken in the belief that the souls of mankind are immortal, still I prefer the error; nor while life remains, will I relinquish this error that yields me such satisfaction." - De Senectute, 23.

Death. Heaven. The Soul.

O praeclarum diem, quum in illud divinum animorum. concilium coetumque proficiscar, quumque ex hac turba et colluvione discedam! Proficiscar enim non ad eos solum viros, de quibus ante dixi, verum etiam ad Catonem meum, quo nemo vir melior natus est, nemo pietate praestantior; cujus a me corpus est crematum — quod contra decuit ab illo meum, — animus vero non me deserens, sed respectans, in ea profecto loca discessit, quo mihi ipsi cernebat esse veniendum.

"O glorious day when I shall enter that divine company and home of souls, when I shall leave this turmoil and conflux of impurities! for I shall go not only to these men of whom I have just spoken, but also to my Cato, than whom no better man was ever born, no man more eminent in all good works, for whom I performed the last sad rites, when it seemed more fitting that he should mourn for me: whose soul not forgetting me, but often looking back upon me, departed to that place whither it perceived that I, too, soon must come.”— De Senectute, 23.

Friendship. Prosperity. Adversity.

Ego vos hortari tantum possum, ut amicitiam omnibus rebus humanis anteponatis; nihil est enim tam naturae aptum, tam conveniens ad res vel secundas vel adversas.

"For my part I can only urge you to value friendship above all earthly possessions; there is nothing so suited to our nature or so adapted to prosperity or adversity." — De Amicitia, 5.

Friendship. Wisdom.

Est enim amicitia nihil aliud nisi omnium divinarum humanarumque rerum cum benevolentia et caritate consensio; qua quidem haud scio an excepta sapientia nihil melius homini sit a dis immortalibus datum.

"Friendship is nothing less than a complete union of feeling on all subjects, divine and human, accompanied by kind feeling and attachment. With the single exception of wisdom, I know of no greater blessing conferred upon mankind by the gods.". De Amicitia, 6.

Companionship. Prosperity. Adversity.

Quid dulcius quam habere quicum omnia audeas sic loqui ut tecum? Qui esset tantus fructus in prosperis rebus, nisi haberes qui illis aeque ac tu ipse gauderet? Adversas vero ferre difficile esset sine eo, qui illas gravius etiam quam tu ferret.

"What is there more delightful than to have a companion in whom you dare confide all things with utmost freedom? What fruits of prosperity would be so enjoyable in the absence of those who might participate in their enjoyment, and how difficult must it prove to bear adversity unless supported by some generous associate who more than equally divides the load." - De Amicitia, 6.

Friendship. Prosperity. Adversity.

Secundas res splendidiores facit amicitia, et adversas, partiens communicansque, leviores.

"Friendship throws a greater luster on prosperity, while it lightens adversity by sharing its griefs and anxieties."— De Amicitia, 6.

Friendship. Hope. The Future. Encouragement.

Quumque plurimas et maximas commoditates amicitia contineat, tum illa nimirum praestat omnibus, quod bonam spem praelucet in posterum nec debilitari animos aut cadere patitur. Verum enim amicum qui intuetur, tamquam exemplar aliquod intuetur sui. Quocirca et absentes adsunt et egentes abundant et imbecilli valent, et, quod difficilius dictu est, mortui vivunt.

"While friendship embraces very many great advantages, it undoubtedly surpasses all in this, that it shines with a brilliant hope over the future and never suffers the spirit to falter or fail. He who looks

upon a true friend beholds, as it were, a kind of image of himself. In this way the absent are with us, the needy have abundance, the infirm are well, and, what seems hardest of all to say, the dead still live.". De Amicitia, 7.

Rule of Life. Friendship.

Haec igitur prima lex amicitiae sanciatur, ut ab amicis honesta petamus, amicorum causa honesta faciamus.

"Let this, therefore, be established as a primary law of friendship, that we expect from our friends only what is honorable; and, for our friends' sake, do what is honorable.` - De Amicitia, 13.

Friendship.

O praeclaram sapientiam! Solem enim e mundo tollere videntur qui amicitiam e vita tollunt, qua nihil a dis immortalibus melius habemus, nihil jucundius.

"O matchless wisdom! they seem to take the sun out of the world, who rob life of its friendship; for the immortal gods have conferred upon mankind no greater boon.". De Amicitia, 13.

Mind. Good. Evil.

Ergo hoc proprium est animi bene constituti, et laetari bonis rebus et dolere contrariis.

"This is the evidence of a well trained mind, that it delights in what is good and recoils instinctively from what is bad." - De Amicitia, 13.

Fortune. Prosperity. Arrogance.

Non enim solum ipsa Fortuna caeca est, sed eos etiam plerumque efficit caecos, quos complexa est. Itaque efferuntur fere fastidio et contumacia, neque quidquam insipiente fortunato intolerabilius fieri potest. Atque hoc quidem videre licet, eos, qui antea commodis fuerint moribus, imperio, potestate, prosperis rebus immutari, sperni ab iis veteres amicitias, indulgeri novis.

"Not only is Fortune herself blind, but she generally blinds those whom she indulges. For this cause they are often proud and arrogant, nor is there anything more intolerable than a prosperous fool. On this account we often see those who were formerly affable, completely changed by a little authority, power or prosperity, despising their old acquaintances and indulging only the new. - De Amicitia, 15.

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Popularity. Merit.

Nec vero negligenda est fama, nec mediocre telum ad res gerendas existimare oportet benevolentiam civium, quam blanditiis et assentando colligere turpe est; virtus, quam sequitur caritas, minime repudianda est.

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Popularity indeed, if purchased at the expense of base condescension to vice, is a disgrace to the possessor, but when it is the natural result of praiseworthy action, it is an acquisition which no wise man will despise." De Amicitia, 17.

Friendship. Adversity.

Ennius recte: Amicus certus in re incerta cernitur.

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'Ennius has rightly said: 'A true friend is known in adversity.”” De Amicitia, 17.

Merit. Excellence.

Rarum genus! et quidem omnia praeclara rara, nec quidquam difficilius quam reperire quod sit omni ex parte in suo genere perfectum.

"Rare merit! and indeed all excellence is rare, for nothing is more difficult to find than perfection." De Amicitia, 21.

Friendship. Virtue. Vice.

Virtutum amicitia adjutrix a natura data est, non vitio

rum comes.

"Friendship was appointed by nature as an aid to the virtues, not a companion of vice." - De Amicitia, 22.

Friendship. Modesty.

Nam maximum ornamentum amicitiae tollit, qui ex ea tollit verecundiam.

"He robs friendship of its greatest ornament, who takes from it modesty."— De Amicitia, 22.

Society.

Si quis in caelum ascendisset naturamque mundi et pulchritudinem siderum perspexisset, insuavem illam admirationem ei fore, quae jucundissima fuisset, si aliquem cui narraret habuisset.

"If one could even mount to heaven and behold the splendors of the starry world, his admiration would be greatly diminished, unless he had some one with whom he might share his delights." — De Amicitia, 23.

Virtue. Hypocrisy.

Virtute enim ipsa non tam multi praediti esse, quam videri volunt.

"The fact is, there are not so many possessed of virtue itself as wish to appear its possessor." - De Amicitia, 26.

Virtue. Life. Immortality.

Vivit tamen semperque vivet; virtutem enim amavi illius viri, quae exstincta non est.

"He lives and shall forever live; for it was his virtues that endeared him to me, and they can never die.". De Amicitia, 27. Speaking of Scipio, an intimate and illustrious friend.