Amic. 17.1Hīs igitur fīnibus ūtendum arbitror, ut, cum ēmendātī mōrēs amīcōrum sint, tum sit inter eōs omnium rērum cōnsiliōrum voluntātum sine ūllā exceptiōne commūnitās, ut etiam sī qua fortūnā accident ut minus iūstae amīcōrum voluntātēs adiuvandae sint, in quibus eōrum aut caput agātur aut fāma, dēclīnandum dē viā sit, modo nē summa turpitūdō sequātur;These, then, are the limits I think we should use: that when the characters of friends are flawless, there should be between them a sharing of all things, plans and wishes without any exception, so that even if by some chance it happens that the less just wishes of friends must be assisted, where their life or reputation is at stake, we should turn aside from the path, provided that utter disgrace does not follow; Amic. 17.1est enim quātenus amīcitiae darī venia possit.for there is a point up to which indulgence can be granted to friendship. Amic. 17.1Nec vērō neglegenda est fāma, nec mediocre tēlum ad rēs gerendās exīstimāre oportet benevolentiam cīvium, quam blanditiīs et assentandō colligere turpe est;Nor indeed should reputation be neglected, nor should we think the goodwill of our fellow citizens a slight weapon for the conduct of affairs, though it is shameful to gather it by flattery and fawning; Amic. 17.1virtūs, quam sequitur cāritās, minimē repudianda est.virtue, which affection follows, is by no means to be rejected.
Amic. 17.62Sed—saepe enim redeō ad Scīpiōnem, cuius omnis sermō erat dē amīcitiā—querēbātur quod omnibus in rēbus hominēs dīligentiōrēs essent;But (for I often return to Scipio, whose whole talk was about friendship) he used to complain that men were more careful in all other matters; Amic. 17.62caprās et ovīs quot quisque habēret dīcere posse, amīcōs quot habēret nōn posse dīcere;that each could say how many goats and sheep he had, but could not say how many friends he had; Amic. 17.62et in illīs quidem parandīs adhibēre cūram, in amīcīs ēligendīs neglegentīs esse nec habēre quasi signa quaedam et notās, quibus eōs, quī ad amīcitiam essent idōneī, iūdicārent.and that in acquiring the former they took pains, but in choosing friends they were careless, and had no signs, as it were, and marks by which to judge those who were suited to friendship. Amic. 17.62Sunt igitur firmī et stabilēs et cōnstantēs ēligendī, cuius generis est magna pēnūria;We must therefore choose men who are firm, stable and constant, a kind of which there is a great scarcity; Amic. 17.62et iūdicāre difficile est sānē nisi expertum, experiendum autem est in ipsā amīcitiā: ita praecurrit amīcitia iūdicium tollitque experiendī potestātem.and it is truly hard to judge except after trial, but the trial must be made in the friendship itself: thus friendship runs ahead of judgement and removes the chance of making trial.
Amic. 17.63Est igitur prūdentis sustinēre ut cursum, sīc impetum benevolentiae, quō ūtāmur, quasi equīs temptātīs, sīc amīcitiā, aliquā parte perīclitātīs mōribus amīcōrum.It is therefore the part of a prudent man to check the rush of goodwill as he would a horse in its course, so that we may use friendship, as we use horses that have been tested, once the characters of our friends have been tried in some measure. Amic. 17.63Quīdam saepe in parvā pecūniā perspiciuntur quam sint levēs;Some men are often found out in a small sum of money, and it is seen how fickle they are; Amic. 17.63quīdam autem, quōs parva movēre nōn potuit, cognōscuntur in magnā.others, whom a small sum could not move, are discovered in a large one. Amic. 17.63Sīn vērō erunt aliquī repertī quī pecūniam praeferre amīcitiae sordidum exīstiment, ubi eōs inveniēmus, quī honōrēs magistrātūs imperia potestātēs opēs amīcitiae nōn antepōnant, ut, cum ex alterā parte prōposita haec sint, ex alterā iūs amīcitiae, nōn multō illa mālint?But if some are found who think it base to prefer money to friendship, where shall we find those who do not put offices, magistracies, commands, powers and wealth before friendship, so that, when these are set before them on one side and the claims of friendship on the other, they would not far rather have the former?
Amic. 17.63Imbēcilla enim est nātūra ad contemnendam potentiam, quam etiam sī neglēctā amīcitiā cōnsecūtī sint, obscūrātum īrī arbitrantur, quia nōn sine magnā causā sit neglēcta amīcitia.For human nature is weak when it comes to despising power, and even if men have attained it by neglecting friendship, they think this will be thrown into the shade, because friendship was neglected for no small reason. Amic. 17.64Itaque vērae amīcitiae difficillimē reperiuntur in eīs, quī in honōribus rēque pūblicā versantur.And so true friendships are very hard to find among those who are engaged in public office and public affairs. Amic. 17.64Ubi enim istum inveniās, quī honōrem amīcī antepōnat suō?For where could you find the man who would put his friend's advancement before his own? Amic. 17.64Quid?Well then? Amic. 17.64haec ut omittam, quam gravēs, quam difficilēs plērīsque videntur calamitātum societātēs, ad quās nōn est facile inventū quī dēscendant.to say nothing of these things, how heavy, how hard most people find it to share in misfortunes, and it is not easy to find those who will stoop to them. Amic. 17.64Quamquam Ennius rēctē: " amīcus certus in rē incertā cernitur;Although Ennius says rightly, 'A sure friend is discerned in an unsure affair,' Amic. 17.64" tamen haec duo levitātis et īnfirmitātis plērōsque convincunt, aut sī in bonīs rēbus contemnunt aut in malīs dēserunt.yet these two things convict most men of fickleness and weakness: either they look down on a friend when their own affairs go well, or they desert him when his go badly.
Amic. 17.64Quī igitur utrāque in rē gravem cōnstantem stabilem sē in amīcitiā praestiterit, hunc ex maximē rārō genere hominum iūdicāre dēbēmus et paene dīvīnō.The man, therefore, who has shown himself in friendship steadfast, constant and stable in both conditions, him we ought to judge to be of a most rare kind of man, almost divine.