Classics Colloquium 4/22: Friendship, Wisdom, and Virtue in Ancient Rome

Today I attended a classics colloquium at Bryn Mawr entitled “Wisdom and Friendship in Cicero’s De amicitia.” The speaker, Katharina Volk, spoke about how the ideas of wisdom, friendship, and virtue connected to one another and how they were interpreted by different ancient peoples.

Volk stated that erudite pursuits were part of life for most Roman senators. However, as much as they engaged in philosophy, they would not call themselves “philosophers,” for this title was typically applied to Greeks. As we have learned about in class this year, Romans cared deeply about appearing unique from the rest of the Mediterranean and differentiating themselves from the Greeks.

De amicitia, the focus of the talk, was a dialogue written by Cicero that included participation mainly from Gaius Laelius, as well as Gaius Fannius and Quintus Mucius Scaevola. Cicero chose Laelius to speak because of his wisdom. Laelius was even given the cognomen “sapiens,” which denoted general political wisdom. 

However wise he appeared, Laelius wished to be remembered for friendship with the late Scipio Africanus instead. Volk labels this behavior as “urbane modesty” that was consistent with his character, or persona.

Cicero desired to create a uniquely Roman sphere of production, and his selection of Laelius made this possible. Laelius openly resented Greek schools of thought, despite not naming any individuals or schools in particular. In De amicitia, Laelius challenges Stoic conceptions of friendship by stating that only good people can be friends. In this way, he argues that friendship and virtue are intrinsically connected. Moreover, he asserts that the Stoic definition of virtue is too strict and virtually impossible to achieve.

Laelius also argues against the Stoic rejection of emotion. Volk spoke about how the Stoics traditionally warned against friendship due to how it can cause mental anxiety. Laelius responded to this by admitting that he had been mourning the death of Scipio (which had recently occurred). In Laelius’ view, the wise person and the virtuous person were one in the same.

I found it surprising that Laelius was the center of the colloquium. I expected that it would pertain more to Cicero than anyone else, considering that he authored De amicitia. The talk was really interesting, and there were lots of takeaways to be had about friendship, wisdom, and virtue in ancient Rome and Greece.

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