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On Friendship
''Laelius de Amicitia'' (or simply ''De Amicitia'') is a treatise on friendship (''amicitia'') by the Roman statesman and author Marcus Tullius Cicero, written in 44 BC. Background The work is written as a dialogue between prominent figures of the Middle Roman Republic and is set after the death of the younger Scipio Africanus (otherwise known as Scipio Aemilianus, Scipio Africanus Minor or Scipio the Younger) in 129 BC. The interlocutors of the dialogue chosen by Cicero are Gaius Laelius, a close friend of the late statesman, and Laelius's two sons-in-law, Gaius Fannius, and Quintus Mucius Scaevola. Cicero in his youth knew Scaevola and states that Scaevola described to him the substance of the conversation on Friendship which he and Fannius had held with Laelius a few days after the death of Scipio. ''De Amicitia'' is addressed to Atticus, who, as Cicero tells him in his dedication, could not fail to discover his own portrait in the study of a perfect friend. Summary In the ...
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Augur
An augur was a priest and official in the ancient Rome, classical Roman world. His main role was the practice of augury, the interpretation of the will of the List of Roman deities, gods by studying events he observed within a predetermined sacred space (''templum''). The ''templum'' corresponded to the heavenly space above. The augur's decisions were based on what he personally saw or heard from within the ''templum''; they included thunder, lightning and any accidental signs such as falling objects, but in particular, birdsigns; whether the birds he saw flew in groups or alone, what noises they made as they flew, the direction of flight, what kind of birds they were, how many there were, or how they fed. This practice was known as "''taking the auspices''". As circumstance did not always favour the convenient appearance of wild birds or weather phenomena, domesticated chickens kept for the purpose were sometimes released into the templum, where their behaviour, particularly h ...
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Books About Friendship
A book is a structured presentation of recorded information, primarily verbal and graphical, through a medium. Originally physical, electronic books and audiobooks are now existent. Physical books are objects that contain printed material, mostly of writing and images. Modern books are typically composed of many pages Bookbinding, bound together and protected by a Book cover, cover, what is known as the ''codex'' format; older formats include the scroll and the Clay tablet, tablet. As a conceptual object, a ''book'' often refers to a written work of substantial length by one or more authors, which may also be distributed digitally as an electronic book (ebook). These kinds of works can be broadly Library classification, classified into fiction (containing invented content, often narratives) and non-fiction (containing content intended as factual truth). But a physical book may not contain a written work: for example, it may contain ''only'' drawings, engravings, photographs, s ...
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Philosophical Works By Cicero
Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, value, mind, and language. It is a rational and critical inquiry that reflects on its methods and assumptions. Historically, many of the individual sciences, such as physics and psychology, formed part of philosophy. However, they are considered separate academic disciplines in the modern sense of the term. Influential traditions in the history of philosophy include Western, Arabic–Persian, Indian, and Chinese philosophy. Western philosophy originated in Ancient Greece and covers a wide area of philosophical subfields. A central topic in Arabic–Persian philosophy is the relation between reason and revelation. Indian philosophy combines the spiritual problem of how to reach enlightenment with the exploration of the nature of reality and the ways of arriving at knowledge. Chinese philosophy focuses principally on ...
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De Senectute
("Cato the Elder on Old Age") is an essay written by Cicero in 44 BC on the subject of aging and death. To lend his reflections greater import, Cicero wrote his essay such that the esteemed Cato the Elder was lecturing to Scipio Aemilianus and Gaius Laelius Sapiens. Title The original title of the work was ''Cato Maior''. Its subtitle was ''De senectute'', but this came to be preferred as a short title by later writers. Cicero himself refers to the work in his other writings generally as ''Cato Maior'' and once as ''Cato Maior qui est scriptus ad te de senectute''. Possibly he calls it ''Cato'' in one instance. Plutarch, translating ''De senectute'', calls it Περὶ γήρως (''Peri geros'') in Greek. Most manuscript copies of the text use the full title or some variant of it (e.g., ''Catonis de senectute'').J. G. F. Powell (ed.), Cicero, ''Cato Maior: De senectute'' (Cambridge University Press, 1988), p. 93. Synopsis It was written by Cicero in his sixty-third year, and is ...
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Project Gutenberg
Project Gutenberg (PG) is a volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, as well as to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks." It was founded in 1971 by American writer Michael S. Hart and is the oldest digital library. Most of the items in its collection are the full texts of books or individual stories in the public domain. All files can be accessed for free under an open format layout, available on almost any computer. , Project Gutenberg had reached over 75,999 items in its collection of free eBooks. The releases are available in plain text as well as other formats, such as HTML, PDF, EPUB, MOBI, and Plucker wherever possible. Most releases are in the English language, but many non-English works are also available. There are multiple affiliated projects that provide additional content, including region- and language-specific works. Project Gutenberg is closely affiliated with Distributed Proofreaders, an Internet-based community for proofr ...
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LacusCurtius
LacusCurtius is the ancient Graeco-Roman part of a large history website, hosted as of March 2025 on a server at the University of Chicago. Starting in 1995, as of January 2004 it gave "access to more than 594 photos, 559 drawings and engravings, 69 plans, and 59 maps".Others have stated that, "as of October 2024 it had '3916 webpages, 779 photos, 772 drawings & engravings, 120 plans, 139 maps.' The overall site is the creation of William P. Thayer. Overview The main resources to be found on it include: * a number of Latin and Greek texts, usually in English translation, and often in the original language also * '' Smith's Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities'' * '' Platner's Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome'' * several secondary works, mostly on Rome and Roman Britain * a photogazetteer of Roman remains and medieval churches of central Italy including the city of Rome * an often-cited online copy of Richard Hinckley Allen's '' Star Names: Their Lore and Meaning' ...
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Esse Quam Videri
''Esse quam videri'' is a Latin phrase meaning "To be, rather than to seem." It has been used as a motto by a number of different groups. History ''Esse quam videri'' is found in Cicero's essay ''On Friendship'' (''Laelius de Amicitia'', chapter 98). ''Virtute enim ipsa non tam multi praediti esse quam videri volunt'' ("Few are those who wish to be endowed with virtue rather than to seem so"). Just a few years after Cicero, Sallust used the phrase in his ''Bellum Catilinae'' (54.6), writing that Cato the Younger ''esse quam videri bonus malebat'' ("He preferred to be good rather than to seem so"). Previous to both Romans, Aeschylus used a similar phrase in ''Seven Against Thebes'' aline 592 at which the scout (''angelos'') says of the seer/priest Amphiaraus: (''ou gàr dokeîn arete (moral virtue), áristos, all' eînai thélei'': "he doesn't want to ''seem'', but to ''be'' the bravest"). Plato quoted this line in ''Republic (Plato), Republic'' (361b). Usage as a motto No ...
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Quintus Mucius Scaevola Augur
Quintus Mucius Scaevola Augur (c. 169 – 88 BC) was a politician of the Roman Republic, Stoic, and an early authority on Roman law. He was first educated in law by his father (whose name he shared) and in philosophy by the Stoic Panaetius of Rhodes. Both Augur and his relative Quintus Mucius Scaevola Pontifex, father-in-law of Pompey, were prominent Optimates. Scaevola was made tribune in 128 BC, aedile in 125, and praetor in 121, in which capacity he acted as governor of Asia. Upon his return to Rome the following year he faced a charge of extortion brought by Titus Albucius (probably on personal grounds) which he successfully defended. In 117, he was elected consul. In his old age, Scaevola vigorously maintained his interest in the law and in the affairs of Rome. He also passed on his knowledge of law to some of Rome's most celebrated orators, as the teacher of Cicero and Atticus. In 88 BC, he alone defended Gaius Marius against Sulla's motion to have him named an enemy ...
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Amicitia
''Amicitia'' is the Latin word for friendship, either between individuals, between the state and an individual or between states. It was "a technical term of Roman political life" from the 2nd century BC, when, according to Seneca, it was introduced by the ''Populares'' Gaius Gracchus and Marcus Livius Drusus, who thereby ranked their '' clientes''. The clients and allies of the Roman state were called ''amici populi Romani'' (friends of the Roman people) and listed on the ''tabula amicorum'' (table of friends). Such ''amicitia'' did not involve treaties or reciprocal obligations. Although ''amicitia'' between individuals was ideally genuine friendship marked by mutual fondness, in practice it more often referred to mere political alliance. Forming and breaking bonds of ''amicitia'' was thus highly formal. The ''amici Augusti'' (friends of Augustus) formed the court in imperial times.Howard Hayes Scullard and Andrew William Lintott, "Amicitia", in ''The Oxford Classical Diction ...
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Gaius Fannius
Gaius Fannius (fl. 2nd century BC) was a Roman republican politician who was elected consul in 122 BC, and was one of the principal opponents of Gaius Gracchus. He was a member of the Scipionic Circle. Career Gaius Fannius was the son of Marcus Fannius (whose brother was probably Gaius Fannius Strabo, the consul of 161 BC),.There has been a long-standing debate over whether this Gaius Fannius was the historian who served under Scipio Aemilianus during the Third Punic War, and together with Tiberius Gracchus were the first to mount the walls of Carthage on the capture of the city. Cicero, from whose letters much of this is derived, was incorrect in identifying Fannius the consul as the son of Gaius; inscriptions clearly reveal that his father was Marcus Fannius. It is now generally accepted that Cicero, although mistaken about some of the details, was probably not mistaken when he distinguished between Gaius Fannius, the Consul of 122 BC and Gaius Fannius, the historian who served ...
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Gaius Laelius Sapiens (consul Of 140)
Gaius Laelius Sapiens (born c. 188 BC), was a Roman statesman, best known for his friendship with the Roman general and statesman Scipio Aemilianus (Scipio the Younger) (d. 129 BC). He was consul of 140 BC, elected with the help of his friend, by then censor, after failing to be elected in 141 BC. Gaius Laelius Sapiens was the son and heir of the Punic War general Gaius Laelius, himself consul in 190 BC. This Laelius had been former second-in-command and long-time friend, since childhood, of the Roman general and statesman Scipio Africanus. The younger Laelius was apparently born around 188 BC, after his father had become consul but had failed to win command of the campaign against Antiochus III the Great of Syria, which would have made him a rich man. His mother's name is unknown. Military career During the Third Punic War, in 147 BC, Laelius accompanied Scipio to Africa, and distinguished himself at the capture of the cothon, the military harbour of Carthage. In 145 he carried ...
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