Amic. 6.1Est enim amīcitia nihil aliud nisi omnium dīvīnārum hūmānārumque rērum cum benevolentiā et cāritāte cōnsēnsiō, quā quidem haud sciō an exceptā sapientiā nīl quicquam melius hominī sit ā dīs immortālibus datum.For friendship is nothing else than agreement on all things divine and human, together with goodwill and affection, and I am inclined to think that, wisdom excepted, nothing better than this has been given to man by the immortal gods. Amic. 6.1Dīvitiās aliī praepōnunt, bonam aliī valētūdinem, aliī potentiam, aliī honōrēs, multī etiam voluptātēs.Some prefer riches, some good health, some power, some offices, many even pleasures. Amic. 6.1Bēluārum hoc quidem extrēmum, illa autem superiōra cadūca et incerta, posita nōn tam in cōnsiliīs nostrīs quam in fortūnae temeritāte.This last belongs to beasts, while the former are fleeting and uncertain, depending not so much on our own plans as on the caprice of fortune. Amic. 6.1Quī autem in virtūte summum bonum pōnunt, praeclārē illī quidem, sed haec ipsa virtūs amīcitiam et gignit et continet, nec sine virtūte amīcitia esse ūllō pactō potest.Those who place the highest good in virtue do so splendidly indeed, but it is this very virtue that both begets and preserves friendship, and without virtue friendship cannot exist in any way.
Amic. 6.21Iam virtūtem ex cōnsuētūdine vītae nostrae sermōnisque nostrī interpretēmur nec eam, ut quīdam doctī, verbōrum magnificentiā mētiāmur, virōsque bonōs eōs quī habentur numerēmus—Paulōs Catōnēs Gallōs Scīpiōnēs Philōs—hīs commūnis vīta contenta est;Now let us interpret virtue by the usage of our own life and speech, and not measure it, as certain learned men do, by grandeur of words, and let us count as good men those who are held to be so, the Pauli, Catos, Galli, Scipios and Phili; with these everyday life is content; Amic. 6.21eōs autem omittāmus, quī omnīnō nūsquam reperiuntur.and let us leave aside those who are nowhere to be found at all. Amic. 6.22Tālis igitur inter virōs amīcitia tantās opportūnitātēs habet, quantās vix queō dīcere.Among such men, then, friendship has advantages so great that I can scarcely tell them. Amic. 6.22Prīncipiō quī potest esse vīta vītālis, ut ait Ennius, quae nōn in amīcī mūtuā benevolentiā conquiēscit?In the first place, how can life be 'worth living', as Ennius says, if it does not find rest in the mutual goodwill of a friend? Amic. 6.22Quid dulcius quam habēre quīcum omnia audeās sīc loquī ut tēcum?What is sweeter than to have someone with whom you may dare to speak of everything as with yourself?
Amic. 6.22Quī esset tantus frūctus in prosperīs rēbus, nisi habērēs quī illīs aequē ac tū ipse gaudēret?How could there be such enjoyment in prosperity, unless you had someone to rejoice in it as much as you yourself? Amic. 6.22Adversās vērō ferre difficile esset sine eō, quī illās gravius etiam quam tū ferret.And adversity would be hard to bear without someone who would bear it even more heavily than you. Amic. 6.22Dēnique cēterae rēs, quae expetuntur, opportūnae sunt singulae rēbus ferē singulīs—dīvitiae, ut ūtāre;Finally, the other things that are sought after are each suited, broadly, to a single purpose: riches, that you may use them; Amic. 6.22opēs, ut colāre;influence, that you may be courted; Amic. 6.22honōrēs, ut laudēre;offices, that you may be praised; Amic. 6.22voluptātēs, ut gaudeās;pleasures, that you may enjoy them; Amic. 6.22valētūdō, ut dolōre careās et mūneribus fungāre corporis;health, that you may be free from pain and perform the functions of the body; Amic. 6.22amīcitia rēs plūrimās continet: quōquō tē verteris praestō est, nūllō locō exclūditur, numquam intempestīva, numquam molesta est.friendship embraces a great many things: wherever you turn, it is at hand, it is shut out from no place, it is never untimely, never irksome.
Amic. 6.22Itaque nōn aquā, nōn ignī, ut aiunt, plūribus locīs ūtimur quam amīcitiā.And so we do not use water or fire, as they say, in more places than friendship. Amic. 6.22Neque ego nunc dē volgārī aut dē mediocrī, quae tamen ipsa et dēlectat et prōdest, sed dē vērā et perfectā loquor, quālis eōrum, quī paucī nōminantur, fuit.Nor am I speaking now of the common or ordinary kind, which nonetheless itself both delights and benefits, but of the true and perfect kind, such as was that of the few who are named. Amic. 6.22Nam et secundās rēs splendidiōrēs facit amīcitia, et adversās, partiēns commūnicānsque, leviōrēs.For friendship both makes prosperity more splendid and, by dividing and sharing it, makes adversity lighter.