De Amicitia Sentence Translation

Tālis igitur inter virōs amīcitia tantās opportūnitātēs habet quantās vix queō dīcere.

Such a friendship among good men, then, has as many advantages as I can scarcely tell. [tantās … quantās correlative]

Prīncipiō, quī potest esse vīta vītālis, ut ait Ennius, quae nōn in amīcī mūtuā benevolentiā conquiēscit?

To begin with, how can life be "worth living," as Ennius says, if it does not find rest in a friend's mutual goodwill? [quī = how?; ut ait = as he says]

Quid dulcius quam habēre quīcum omnia audeās sīc loquī ut tēcum?

What is sweeter than to have someone with whom you may dare to speak about everything as you would with yourself? [relative clause of characteristic]

Quī esset tantus fructus in prosperīs rēbus, nisi habērēs quī illīs aequē ac tū ipse gaudēret?

What great enjoyment would there be in good fortune if you did not have someone who would rejoice in it just as much as you yourself? [present contrary-to-fact; characteristic clause]

Adversās vērō ferre difficile esset sine eō quī illās gravius etiam quam tū ferret.

And it would be hard to bear misfortune without someone who would bear it even more heavily than you. [apodosis with imperfect subjunctive]

Dīvitiae, ut ūtāre; opēs, ut colāre; honōrēs, ut laudēre; voluptātēs, ut gaudeās.

Wealth is useful so that you may use it; power so that you may be courted; offices so that you may be praised; pleasures so that you may rejoice. [purpose clauses; -re = -ris]

Valētūdō, ut dolōre careās et mūneribus fungāre corporis.

Health is useful so that you may be free of pain and perform the functions of the body. [careō and fungor + abl.]

Amīcitia rēs plūrimās continet.

Friendship contains very many things. [the climax of the list of goods]

Quōquō tē verteris praestō est; nullō locō exclūditur; numquam intempestīva, numquam molesta est.

Wherever you turn, it is at hand; it is shut out from no place; it is never untimely, never troublesome. [future perfect, generic 2nd person]

Itaque nōn aquā, nōn ignī, ut aiunt, plūribus locīs ūtimur quam amīcitiā.

And so, as they say, we use neither water nor fire in more places than we use friendship. [ūtor + abl.; amīcitiā is the object of ūtimur]

Nam et secundās rēs splendidiōrēs facit amīcitia, et adversās partiēns commūnicānsque leviōrēs.

For friendship both makes prosperity more splendid and, by dividing and sharing, makes adversity lighter. [present participles agree with amīcitia]

Cumque plūrimās et maximās commoditātēs amīcitia continet, tum illa nīmīrum praestat omnibus, quod bonam spem praelūcet in posterum nec dēbilitārī animōs aut cadere patitur.

Not only does friendship contain very many and very great advantages, but it surely surpasses them all in that it shines with good hope for the future and does not allow spirits to be weakened or to fall. [cum … tum; patior + acc. and inf.]

Verum etiam amīcum quī intuētur, tamquam exemplar aliquod intuētur suī.

Moreover, whoever looks at a friend looks, as it were, at a model of himself. [objective genitive; reflexive suī]

Quocircā et absentēs adsunt et egentēs abundant et imbēcillī valent et, quod difficilius dictū est, mortuī vīvunt.

And so the absent are present, the needy have plenty, the weak are strong, and—what is harder to say—the dead live. [polysyndeton; supine dictū]

Tantus eōs honōs, memoria, dēsīderium prōsequitur amīcōrum.

Such honor, remembrance and longing on the part of their friends attends them. [singular verb with a compound subject]

Ex quō illōrum beāta mors videtur, hōrum vīta laudābilis.

Hence the death of the former seems blessed, and the life of the latter praiseworthy. [illōrum = the dead; hōrum = the living]

Quod sī exēmeris ex rērum nātūrā benevolentiae coniūnctiōnem, nec domus ūlla nec urbs stāre poterit.

But if you remove the bond of goodwill from the nature of things, no household and no city will be able to stand. [future more vivid; future perfect protasis]

Nē agrī quidem cultus permanēbit.

Not even the cultivation of the fields will last. [nē … quidem]

Id sī minus intellegitur, quanta vīs amīcitiae concordiaeque sit ex dissēnsiōnibus atque discordiīs percipī potest.

If this is less readily understood, how great the power of friendship and harmony is can be grasped from dissensions and discord. [indirect question]

Quae enim domus tam stabilis, quae tam firma cīvitās est quae nōn odiīs et dissidiīs funditus possit ēvertī?

For what household is so stable, what state so firm, that it could not be utterly overthrown by hatreds and quarrels? [characteristic clause with negative sense]

Ex quō quantum bonī sit in amīcitiā iūdicārī potest.

From this one can judge how much good there is in friendship. [indirect question; partitive genitive]

Itaque sī quandō aliquod officium exstitit amīcī in perīculīs aut adeundīs aut commūnicandīs, quis est quī id nōn maximīs efferat laudibus?

And so if ever an act of duty on a friend's part has appeared in facing or sharing dangers, who is there who would not praise it with the highest praise? [gerundives; characteristic clause]

Quī clāmōrēs tōta cavea nūper in hospitis et amīcī meī M. Pacuvī nova fābula!

What shouts there were from the whole theater recently at the new play of my guest-friend and friend, M. Pacuvius! [exclamatory quī; no main verb]

Ignōrante rēge uter esset Orestēs, Pyladēs Orestem sē esse dīceret ut prō illō necārētur.

With the king not knowing which of the two was Orestes, Pylades claimed that he was Orestes so that he might be killed in his place. [ablative absolute; indirect question; indirect statement; purpose clause]

Orestēs autem, ita ut erat, Orestem sē esse persevērāret.

But Orestes, just as was the case, kept insisting that he was Orestes. [ita ut erat; indicative states a fact]

Stantēs plaudēbant in rē fictā: quid arbitrāmur in vērā factūrōs fuisse?

Standing, they applauded at a made-up scene: what do we think they would have done in a real one? [factūrōs fuisse = contrary-to-fact apodosis in indirect speech]

Facile indicābat ipsa nātūra vim suam, cum hominēs, quod facere ipsī nōn possent, id rectē fierī in alterō iūdicārent.

Nature herself clearly revealed her own power, since people judged that what they themselves could not do was rightly done in another. [cum causal; indicō vs. iūdicō]

Saepissimē igitur mihi dē amīcitiā cōgitantī maximē illud cōnsīderandum vidērī solet.

And so, most often, when I reflect on friendship, that point especially seems to be one to be considered. [dative participle; gerundive of obligation]

Utrum propter imbēcillitātem atque inopiam dēsīderāta sit amīcitia, ut dandīs recipiendīsque meritīs, quod quisque minus per sē ipse posset, id acciperet ab aliō vicissimque redderet,

whether friendship was desired because of weakness and need, so that by giving and receiving favors each might receive from another, and return in turn, what he could less well do by himself, [utrum … an; ablative gerundives; purpose clause]

an esset hoc quidem proprium amīcitiae, sed antīquior et pulchrior et magis ā nātūrā ipsā profecta alia causa.

or whether, though this was indeed characteristic of friendship, there was another cause, older and finer and arising more from nature itself. [second half of the double question; proficīscor is deponent]

Amor enim, ex quō amīcitia nōminata est, prīnceps est ad benevolentiam coniungendam.

For love, from which friendship gets its name, is the leading force in uniting goodwill. [ad + gerundive; wordplay amor / amīcitia]

Nam ūtilitātēs quidem etiam ab eīs percipiuntur saepe quī simulātiōne amīcitiae coluntur et observantur temporis causā.

For advantages are often obtained even from those who are courted and cultivated under a pretense of friendship, for the sake of the occasion. [simulātiōne = ablative of manner; causā + gen.]

In amīcitiā autem nihil fictum est, nihil simulātum; et quidquid est, id est vērum et voluntārium.

In friendship, however, nothing is feigned, nothing pretended; and whatever there is, that is genuine and voluntary. [quidquid … id]

Quapropter ā nātūrā mihi vidētur potius quam ab indigentiā ortā amīcitia, applicātiōne magis animī cum quōdam sēnsū amandī quam cōgitātiōne quantum illa rēs ūtilitātis esset habitūra.

Therefore friendship seems to me to have arisen from nature rather than from need: from an inclination of the heart with a certain feeling of loving, rather than from calculating how much advantage that thing would bring. [personal construction; indirect question with active periphrastic]

Quod quidem quāle sit etiam in bēstiīs quibusdam animadvertī potest, quae ex sē nātōs ita amant ad quoddam tempus et ab eīs ita amantur ut facile eārum sēnsus appāreat.

What sort of thing this is can be observed even in certain animals, which love their offspring so much for a certain time, and are so loved by them, that their feeling is easily evident. [indirect question; result clause]

Quod in homine multō est ēvidentius.

This is much clearer in a human being. [multō = abl. of degree of difference]

Cāritās quae inter nātōs et parentēs est, quae dīrimī nisi dētestābilī scelere nōn potest.

The affection between children and parents, which cannot be broken except by abominable crime. [passive infinitive with potest; ablative of means]

Nihil est enim virtūte amābilius; nihil quod magis adliciat ad dīligendum.

For nothing is more lovable than virtue; nothing attracts one more to loving. [ablative of comparison; characteristic clause; ad + gerund]

Quippe cum propter virtūtem et probitātem etiam eōs quōs numquam vīdimus quōdam modō dīligāmus.

Seeing that, on account of virtue and integrity, we in a certain way love even those whom we have never seen. [quippe cum + subjunctive]

Quis est quī C. Fabricī, M'. Curī nōn cum cāritāte aliquā et benevolentiā memoriam ūsurpet, quōs numquam viderit?

Who is there who does not recall the memory of Fabricius and Curius with some affection and goodwill, though he has never seen them? [characteristic clause; perfect subjunctive by attraction]

Quis autem est quī Tarquinium Superbum nōn ōderit?

And who is there who does not hate Tarquin the Proud? [ōdī: perfect form with present meaning]

Cum duōbus ducibus dē imperiō in Italiā est dēcertātum, Pyrrhō et Hannibale: ab alterō propter probitātem eius nōn nimis aliēnōs animōs habēmus; alterum propter crūdēlitātem semper haec cīvitās ōderit.

When a contest for supremacy in Italy was fought against two leaders, Pyrrhus and Hannibal: toward the one, because of his integrity, we do not have very hostile feelings; the other this state will always hate because of his cruelty. [impersonal passive; litotes; alter … alter]

Quod sī tanta vīs probitātis est ut eam vel in eīs quōs numquam vīdimus, vel quod maius est in hoste etiam dīligāmus,

But if the power of integrity is so great that we love it either in those whom we have never seen or—what is more remarkable—even in an enemy, [result clause; parenthetical quod maius est]

quid mīrum est sī animī hominum moveantur, cum eōrum, quibuscum ūsū coniūnctī esse possunt, virtūtem et bonitātem perspicere videantur?

what wonder is it if people's hearts are moved, when they seem to perceive the virtue and goodness of those with whom they can be joined by close association? [causal cum; personal videantur + infinitive]

Quamquam cōnfīrmātur amor et beneficiō acceptō et studiō perspectō.

And yet love is strengthened both by a kindness received and by devotion perceived. [ablatives absolute]

Sed quamquam ūtilitātēs multae et magnae cōnsecūtae sunt, nōn sunt tamen ab earum spē causae dīligendī profectae.

But although many great advantages have followed, the reasons for loving did not nevertheless arise from hope of them. [deponent perfects; genitive gerund]

Sīc amīcitiam, nōn spē mercēdis adductī, sed quod omnis eius fructus in ipsō amōre inest, expetendam putāmus.

Thus we think friendship should be sought—not led on by hope of reward, but because its whole profit lies in love itself. [gerundive of obligation; esse omitted]

Nam sī ūtilitās conglūtināret, eadem commūtāta dissolveret.

For if utility were to bind friendship together, the same thing, once changed, would dissolve it. [present contrary-to-fact]

Sed quia nātūra mūtārī nōn potest, idcircō vērae amīcitiae sempiternae sunt.

But because nature cannot be changed, true friendships are therefore everlasting. [passive infinitive with potest]

Ortum quidem amīcitiae videtis.

You see, then, the origin of friendship. [ortus, -ūs m.]

Tū vērō perge, Laelī.

By all means go on, Laelius. [singular imperative; vocative]

Audīte vērō, optimī virī, ea quae saepissimē inter mē et Scīpiōnem dē amīcitiā disserēbantur.

Listen, excellent men, to the things that were most often discussed between Scipio and me about friendship. [plural imperative; imperfect passive = repeated action]

Quamquam ille quidem nihil difficilius esse dīcēbat quam amīcitiam ūsque ad extrēmam vītae diem permanēre.

Although he used to say that nothing was harder than for friendship to last to the very last day of life. [indirect statement; comparison of two infinitive ideas]

Nam vel ut nōn īdem expedīret incidere saepe, vel ut dē rē pūblicā nōn īdem sentīrētur.

For it often happened either that the same thing was not advantageous, or that the same view was not held about the state. [ut noun clauses of fact; impersonal passive sentīrētur]

Mūtārī etiam mōrēs hominum saepe dīcēbat, aliās adversīs rēbus, aliās aetāte ingravēscente.

He also often said that people's characters change, at one time through adversity, at another through advancing age. [indirect statement; ablative of cause; ablative absolute]

Magna etiam discidia et plērumque iūsta nascī cum aliquid ab amīcīs quod rectum nōn esset postulārētur, ut aut libīdinis ministrī aut adiūtōrēs essent ad iniūriam.

He also said that great and usually justified quarrels arise when something not right is demanded from friends, so that they are asked to be either servants of desire or helpers toward wrongdoing. [reported speech; cum-clause; result clause]

Quamobrem id prīmum videāmus, sī placet, quatenus amor in amīcitiā prōgredī dēbeat.

So let us first see, if you please, how far love ought to advance in friendship. [hortatory subjunctive; indirect question]

Numne, sī Coriolānus habuit amīcōs, ferre contrā patriam arma illī cum Coriolānō dēbuērunt?

Surely, if Coriolanus had friends, they were not obliged to bear arms against their country with Coriolanus, were they? [numne expects no; simple condition]

Nūlla est igitur excūsātiō peccātī sī amīcī causā peccāveris.

There is, therefore, no excuse for wrongdoing if you do wrong for a friend's sake. [future more vivid; causā + gen.]

Nam, cum conciliātrix amīcitiae virtūtis opīniō fuerit, difficile est amīcitiam manēre, sī ā virtūte dēfēceris.

For since belief in virtue has been what wins friendship, it is hard for friendship to last if you fall away from virtue. [causal cum + perfect subjunctive; predicate noun conciliātrix]

Haec igitur lēx in amīcitiā sanciātur ut neque rogēmus rēs turpēs nec faciāmus rogātī.

Let this law be established in friendship, then: that we neither ask for shameful things nor do them when asked. [jussive subjunctive; ut clause giving content of lēx]

Quis est—prō deōrum fidem atque hominum!—quī velit, ut neque dīligat quemquam nec ipse ab ūllō dīligātur, circumfluere omnibus cōpiīs atque in omnium rērum abundantiā vīvere?

Who is there—by the faith of gods and men!—who would wish, on condition that he love no one and be loved by no one, to be surrounded by every resource and live in an abundance of all things? [accusative of exclamation; characteristic clause; proviso ut]

Haec enim est tyrannōrum vīta, nīmīrum in quā nūlla fidēs, nūlla cāritās, nūlla stabilis benevolentiae potest esse fidūcia.

For this is the life of tyrants, surely, in which there can be no loyalty, no affection, no secure trust in goodwill. [potest esse governs all three subjects]

Omnia semper suspecta atque sollicita, nūllus locus amīcitiae.

Everything is always suspect and anxious; there is no place for friendship. [est omitted; asyndeton]

Quis enim aut eum dīligat quem metuat, aut eum ā quō sē metuī putet?

For who could love either the man he fears or the man by whom he thinks he is feared? [potential subjunctive; indirect statement with reflexive sē]

Coluntur tamen simulātiōne dumtaxat ad tempus.

They are courted, however, only in pretense and for a time. [subject = the tyrants; ablative of manner]

Quod sī forte, ut fit plērumque, cecidērint, tum intellegitur quam fuerint inopēs amīcōrum.

But if by chance, as usually happens, they fall, then it is understood how destitute of friends they were. [future perfect; indirect question; inops + gen.]

Quod Tarquinium dixisse ferunt exsulantem: tum sē intellēxisse quōs fīdōs amīcōs habuisset, quōs infīdōs, cum iam neutrīs grātiam referre posset.

This they say Tarquin said in exile: that he then understood which friends he had had as loyal and which as disloyal, when he could no longer repay favor to either. [nested indirect speech; pluperfect subjunctive; gratiam referre]

Quamquam mīror illā superbiā et importūnitāte sī quemquam amīcum habēre potuit.

And yet I wonder whether, with that arrogance and harshness, he could have had any friend at all. [sī after a verb of wonder; ablative of attendant circumstance]

Atque ut huius, quem dixī, mōrēs vērōs amīcōs parāre nōn potuērunt, sīc multōrum opēs praepotentium exclūdunt amīcitiās fidēlēs.

And just as the character of this man, whom I mentioned, could not win true friends, so the wealth of many very powerful men shuts out faithful friendships. [ut … sīc correlative]

Nōn enim sōlum ipsa fortūna caeca est, sed eōs etiam plērumque effēcit caecōs quōs complexa est.

For not only is Fortune herself blind, but she has also generally made blind those whom she has embraced. [predicate accusative; deponent complector]

Itaque efferuntur fere fastīdiō et contumāciā, nec quidquam insipiente fortūnātō intolerābilius fierī potest.

And so they are generally carried away by disdain and stubbornness, and nothing more intolerable than a prosperous fool can come about. [ablative of comparison]

Atque hoc quidem vidēre licet—eōs quī antea commodīs fuērunt mōribus, imperiō, potestāte, prosperīs rēbus immūtārī, spernī ab eīs veterēs amīcitiās, indulgērī novīs.

And one can indeed see this: that those who were formerly of agreeable character are changed by power, authority and prosperity; that old friendships are spurned by them, and new ones indulged. [licet + acc. and inf.; impersonal passive indulgērī + dative]

Quid autem stultius quam, cum plūrimum cōpiīs, facultātibus, opibus possint, cēterā parāre quae parantur—pecūniam, equōs, famulōs, vestem ēgregiam, vāsa pretiōsa—amīcōs nōn parāre, optimam et pulcherrimam vītae, ut ita dīcam, suppellēctilem?

And what is more foolish than, when they have the greatest power in resources, means and wealth, to acquire the other things that are acquired—money, horses, servants, fine clothing, costly vessels—but not to acquire friends, the best and finest furnishing of life, so to speak? [causal or concessive cum; apposition; ut ita dīcam]