Lesson · 4 min Steady
Friends in the Good
In one line For Cicero, true friendship rests on shared goodness, and no friend may ask you to do wrong.
Cicero’s On Friendship is a dialogue in which the Roman statesman Laelius speaks about his late friend Scipio. True friendship, Laelius says, is agreement in all things human and divine, joined with goodwill and affection. Apart from wisdom, the gods have given nothing better.
Such friendship can exist only between good people, because it grows from admiring each other’s character. Friendships formed for advantage end when the advantage ends. Cicero sets one firm rule: we should not ask friends to do wrong, nor do wrong when they ask. Being a friend is no excuse for a crime.
He also warns against flatterers, who say what pleases rather than what is true. A real friend gives honest advice and accepts it. The habit worth keeping is to treat honesty as part of loyalty, not its enemy.
Go deeper
Cicero borrowed much from Aristotle, who also ranked friendships of virtue above those of use and pleasure. Cicero’s Roman setting adds politics: he mentions men who joined friends in attacks on the state and claimed loyalty as a defense. He rejects that plea. Loyalty, for Cicero, is owed to a friend’s good, not to whatever the friend happens to want.
The covering story
Priya’s old friend asks her to tell their manager he was at a client meeting when he was not. He reminds her of the times he covered for her.
Priya says no, and tells him she will help him explain the missed day honestly. He is angry for a week. Later he admits that a friend who would lie for him would also lie to him.
Try this today Think of one favor a friend asked that bothered you, and decide what you would say next time.
Cite or share this lesson
A plain reference you can paste into notes or an essay:
Quest2Reason. “Friends in the Good.” https://quest2reason.com/learn/lesson/friends-in-the-good. Accessed 13 November 2026.
Sources
- Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, “Cicero” — Covers Cicero’s Academic stance, On Duties and On Friendship.
- Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, “Cicero” — Overview of his life, his role in bringing Greek philosophy into Latin, and his ethical works.
- Cicero, On Friendship (Laelius de Amicitia), sections 20 and 40 — The definition of friendship as agreement joined with goodwill and affection, and the rule not to ask for or do what is wrong. Paraphrase.