“Friendship improves happiness and abates misery, by the doubling of our joy and the dividing of our grief.”
- January 3, 106 BC – December 7, 43 BC
- Roman
- Orator, Philosopher, Statesman, Lawyer, Author
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Quote
“Friendship improves happiness and abates misery, by the doubling of our joy and the dividing of our grief.”
Explanation
Cicero beautifully expresses the transformative power of true friendship, noting that it both enhances life’s joys and softens its sorrows. The metaphor of doubling joy and dividing grief illustrates how companionship magnifies the good and lightens the burden of the bad. In friendship, happiness becomes more meaningful because it is shared, and suffering becomes more bearable because it is supported.
This idea is central to Cicero’s treatise Laelius de Amicitia (On Friendship), where he explores friendship as a bond grounded not in utility or pleasure, but in virtue and mutual respect. For Cicero, friendship is not a luxury but a moral necessity, something that enriches both the individual and the community. True friends, he believed, serve as mirrors, counselors, and moral anchors, making each other better and stronger.
In contemporary life, where isolation and individualism often dominate, Cicero’s insight remains vital. His words remind us that deep, virtuous friendships are essential to human flourishing, not only as sources of emotional comfort but as pillars of resilience and meaning. To cultivate such relationships is to invest in a life of greater depth, connection, and enduring joy.
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