17 Cicero, De Amicitia 33–35 (continued)
Friendships between the best men generally dissolve due to rivalry for public honors. But asking friends for favors that are not right also causes disagree.
| 1 | pestem enim nūllam māiōrem esse amīcitiīs quam in plērīsque pecūniae cupiditātem, in optimīs quibusque honōris certāmen et glōriae; |
| 2 | ex quō inimīcitiās maximās saepe inter amīcissimōs exstitisse. |
| 3 | [35] Magna etiam discidia et plērumque iūsta nāscī, cum aliquid ab amīcīs, quod rēctum nōn esset, postulārētur, ut aut libīdinis ministrī aut adiūtōrēs essent ad iniūriam; |
| 4 | quod quī recūsārent, quamvīs honestē id facerent, iūs tamen amīcitiae dēserere arguerentur ab iīs, quibus obsequī nōllent. |
| 5 | Illōs autem, quī quidvīs ab amīcō audērent postulāre, postulātiōne ipsā profitērī omnia sē amīcī causā esse factūrōs. |
| 6 | Eōrum querēlā inveterātā nōn modo familiāritātēs exstinguī solēre, sed odia etiam gignī sempiternia. |
| 7 | Haec ita multa quasi fāta inpendēre amīcitiīs, ut omnia subterfugere nōn modo sapientiae, sed etiam fēlīcitātis dīceret sibi vidērī. |
| 1 | pestem: remember we are still inside an indirect statement.
in plērīsque: the “many” are being contrasted to all “best” (in optimīs quibusque). quibusque: where the form of quisque is used to emphasize the idea that “all” the best men do this |
| 2 | ex quō: is equivalent to ex eo and is thus a connecting relative, common in Cicero. |
| 3 | nāscī: continues the indirect statement.
ut: what kind of ut clause? note the proximity to the verb postulārētur. |
| 4 | quod: a “connecting” relative pronoun which serves as the object of recūsārent and takes as its antecedent the entire situation of the preceding clause (the idea of one friend asking another to do something that is not right).
quibus: the verb obsequor -ī takes the dative; the antecedent (iīs) are the friends making the “bad” request. |
| 5 | quidvīs: has a somewhat negative connotation here: “anything at all”, just as being willing to “do everything” for the sake of friendship in the following clause implies a lack of moral restraint that is culpable in Scipio’s eyes.
profitērī omnia sē amīcī causā esse factūrōs: the written order is also the logical / chronological order, “they declare publicly that everything….” |
| 6 | querēlā inveterātā: an abl. of cause or means.
odia: friendship can turn into the opposite if expectations are not met. extinguī…gignī: love those 3rd conjugation passive infinitives! |
| 7 | amīcitiīs: why the dative here?
omnia: i.e., the dangers associated with amīcitia. ut: by now I should not have to repeat the idea that not all ut clauses are purpose clauses, but just in case…. subterfugere: this infinitive (which takes omnia as its object) serves as the subject of vidērī (which is inside indirect statement after dīceret). Laelius (voicing Scipio) has decided to remind us at the end that all of this is reported speech; you need to understand an infinitive esse with vidērī to complete the genitive of characteristic construction with sapientiae and fēlīcitātis. |
Interrogata
- Who were your best friends when you were younger? Are you still friends now?
- Have you ever competed with a friend for something that only one of you could have? What was the result?
- How wrong does something need to be before you say “no” to a friend?
