Laelius de Amicitia

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Laelius de Amicitia is a work by Cicero.

Cicero writes about his own experience with friendship in a way that anyone can relate to throughout time. After the death of a good friend, Cicero ponders the meaning of this friendship, how he could bear the loss, and explicates his grounds for bereavement. He enumerates what qualities make for good friends, explains what characteristics expose a bad friend, and provides examples from his personal life. He writes this philosophy in the style of early Greek philosophers to get to the bottom of the concept of friendship, while presenting his case straightforwardly and in a way that that resonates in each of us through human understanding. The work is written as a dialogue between prominent figures of the early Roman republic and is set after the death of Scipio Africanus. The interlocutors of the dialogue chosen by Cicero are Gaius Fannius, Mucius Scaevola, and Gaius Laelius.