How to Be a Friend cover art

How to Be a Friend

An Ancient Guide to True Friendship

 Preview

Audible Standard 30-day free trial

Try Standard free
Select 1 audiobook a month from our entire collection.
Listen to your selected audiobooks as long as you're a member.
Get unlimited access to bingeable podcasts.
Standard auto renews for £5.99 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

How to Be a Friend

By: Marcus Tullius Cicero, Philip Freeman - Introduction, Philip Freeman - Translator
Narrated by: Shaun Grindell
Try Standard free

£5.99 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for £8.09

Buy Now for £8.09

About this listen

In a world where social media, online relationships, and relentless self-absorption threaten the very idea of deep and lasting friendships, the search for true friends is more important than ever. In this short book, which is one of the greatest ever written on the subject, the famous Roman politician and philosopher Cicero offers a compelling guide to finding, keeping, and appreciating friends. With wit and wisdom, Cicero teaches not only how to build friendships but also why they must be a key part of our lives. For, as Cicero says, life without friends is not worth living.

Filled with timeless advice and insights, Cicero's heartfelt and moving classic - written in 44 BC and originally titled De Amicitia - has inspired people for more than 2,000 years, from St. Augustine and Dante to Thomas Jefferson and John Adams.

Presented here in a lively new translation and an inviting introduction, How to Be a Friend explores how to choose the right friends, how to avoid the pitfalls of friendship, and how to live with friends in good times and bad. Cicero also praises what he sees as the deepest kind of friendship - one in which two people find in each other "another self" or a kindred soul.

©2018 Philip Freeman (P)2018 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books Ancient, Classical & Medieval Literature Classics Collections Ethics & Morality Friendship Greek & Roman History Philosophy Relationships Society Heartfelt
All stars
Most relevant
This is a wonderful and sensitive narration and translation of a fascinating book. HOWEVER PLEASE FIX THE LACK OF PAUSES BETWEEN SECTIONS AS THE EFFECT OF THE ENTIRETY OF THE BOOK IS THAT OF ONE CONTINUOUS PARAGRAPH, MERGING PASSAGES, ARGUMENTS, SECTIONS, SUBSECTIONS, WITH AN OFTEN ABSURD DEARTH OF RHYTHMIC PAUSE, SO THAT THE INTENDED AND NECESSARY SENSE IS FREQUENTLY LOST.

That said, so long as you're willing to do your own 'pauses' with the pause button, at points where a major argument has finished, I wholly recommend this audiobook.

FIX THE LACK OF PAUSES BETWEEN SECTIONS PLEASE.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.