“What is thine is mine, and all mine is thine.”
- January 3, 106 BC – December 7, 43 BC
- Roman
- Orator, Philosopher, Statesman, Lawyer, Author
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Quote
“What is thine is mine, and all mine is thine.”
Explanation
Cicero expresses the essence of perfect friendship, where complete mutual trust and selflessness dissolve any sense of personal possession. In such a bond, there is no “yours” and “mine”—only a shared life, in which each person’s resources, affections, and concerns are freely given and received. This ideal reflects a relationship founded on virtue, loyalty, and absolute generosity.
This quote originates from Cicero’s Laelius de Amicitia (On Friendship), where he describes the highest form of friendship as one based not on utility or pleasure, but on virtue and mutual respect. He believed that in true friendship, friends become extensions of one another, bound by a moral union so strong that what benefits one naturally benefits the other. This goes beyond material sharing—it is a statement of unity in heart and purpose.
In contemporary terms, Cicero’s vision challenges more transactional or conditional notions of relationships. It reminds us that deep friendship is built on unconditional giving and profound trust, where generosity flows not from obligation, but from affection and shared values. His words remain a timeless ideal of what it means to be fully committed to another’s well-being as if it were one’s own.
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