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    How to Be a Friend: An Ancient Guide to True Friendship
    How to Be a Friend: An Ancient Guide to True Friendship
    How to Be a Friend: An Ancient Guide to True Friendship
    Audiobook1 hour

    How to Be a Friend: An Ancient Guide to True Friendship

    Written by Marcus Tullius Cicero and Philip Freeman

    Narrated by Shaun Grindell

    4.5/5

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    About this audiobook

    In a world where social media, online relationships, and relentless self-absorption threaten the very idea of deep and lasting friendships, the search for true friends is more important than ever. In this short book, which is one of the greatest ever written on the subject, the famous Roman politician and philosopher Cicero offers a compelling guide to finding, keeping, and appreciating friends. With wit and wisdom, Cicero shows us not only how to build friendships but also why they must be a key part of our lives. For, as Cicero says, life without friends is not worth living.

    Filled with timeless advice and insights, Cicero's heartfelt and moving classic-written in 44 BC and originally titled De Amicitia-has inspired readers for more than two thousand years, from St. Augustine and Dante to Thomas Jefferson and John Adams. Presented here in a lively new translation and an inviting introduction, How to Be a Friend explores how to choose the right friends, how to avoid the pitfalls of friendship, and how to live with friends in good times and bad. Cicero also praises what he sees as the deepest kind of friendship-one in which two people find in each other "another self" or a kindred soul.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHighbridge Company
    TranslatorPhilip Freeman
    Release dateOct 9, 2018
    ISBN9781684414758
    Author

    Marcus Tullius Cicero

    Marcus Tullius Cicero wird 106 v. Chr. geboren. Seine Ausbildung in Rom umfaßt Recht, Literatur, Philosophie und Rhetorik, was ihm den Weg zu einer politischen Karriere ebnet. Nach kurzem Militärdienst geht er nach Griechenland und Kleinasien, um seine Studien fortzusetzen. Er kehrt 77 v. Chr. nach Rom zurück und beginnt eine politische Laufbahn. Der Durchbruch als Anwalt und Politiker in Rom gelingt ihm 70 v. Chr. im Prozeß gegen Verres. Während seiner Amtszeit als Konsul verhindert er 63 v. Chr. die Verschwörung des Catilina, muß jedoch auf Grund der herrschenden Machtverhältnisse 58 v. Chr. für kurze Zeit ins Exil gehen. Phasen politischer Abwesenheit nutzt Cicero zur Vertiefung seiner Studien und zur literarischen Produktion. In den folgenden Jahren entstehen die rechtsphilosophischen Hauptwerke wie Vom Gemeinwesen und Von den Gesetzen. Im Jahr 50 v. Chr. kehrt er nach Rom zurück und schließt sich nach Beendigung des Bürgerkrieges Caesar an. Die Akademischen Abhandlungen entstehen etwa vier Jahre später. Cicero kommt hier das Verdienst zu, die Übertragung großer Teile des griechischen philosophischen Vokabulars ins Lateinische geleistet und damit die Rezeption der griechischen Philosophie in Rom befördert zu haben. Die Frage nach der Gewißheit der Erkenntnis und der Unterschied zwischen der dogmatischen und der skeptischen Akademie auf dem Gebiet der Erkenntnistheorie steht im Mittelpunkt des Dialoges Lucullus. Cicero wird Opfer der in den politischen Unruhen des zweiten Triumvirats beschlossenen Proskritptionen. Er wird im Dezember 43 v. Chr. auf der Flucht ermordet.

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    Reviews for How to Be a Friend

    4.5/5

    77 ratings4 reviews

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    • 5/5
      livro incrível! me fez pensar nas minhas amizades, principalmente para me tornar alguém melhor!
    • 5/5
      Great instructions for good friendship. Very nice learn more about.
    • 5/5
      Absolutely absolutely absolutely beautiful fkn book. Whoever gives this less than 5 stars, I pity that fool.
    • 5/5
      Cicero's dialogue on friendship demonstrates his approach to philosophy, drawing on the work of the Greeks that preceded him, especially Plato and Aristotle. While set in the Rome of his day, he harkens back to those thinkers who defined such concepts as virtue and the Good. A notable example being Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics.Cicero states that "the very essence of friendship" is "a common set of beliefs, aspirations, and opinions." (p 31). He further states that friendship is only possible between those who "act and live so that their lives give proof of faithfulness, integrity, fairness, and generosity; and who are free from any low passion, greed, or violence; and are of great strength of character," (p 37). Most important for true friendship, however, is virtue and "virtue, too, loves itself," (p 165); in conclusion he states, "I say it is virtue that creates and preserves friendships. Virtue is the source of compatibility, stability, and permanence." (p 169)Cicero's stance would seem to be one that in most respects is consistent with some modern views as it prominently does not depend on "service above self", but is consistent with integrity and treating others with respect while acting virtuously. This translation by Philip Freeman is felicitous in making Cicero's beautiful Latin prose read as fluently in contemporary English. The result is a demonstration that we can still learn from the classical thinkers of Rome and Greece.