On Old Age, On Friendship, On Duties

Cicero speaks to the reader like to an old and wise friend, reflecting on eternal themes—duty, friendship, and old age. His ideas that have survived through the centuries are perceived not as dry ancient history, but as a practical guide on how to live with dignity in the present. This volume includes the main part of Cicero’s purely philosophical works (without political digressions) that have reached us in full or with minimal losses. Written in genres familiar to Antiquity—dialogues and letters (with an assumed addressee, who here is the author’s son, Mark)—they vividly convey his unwavering, almost ascetic moral convictions. Before us is one of the earliest and most important representatives of the Roman Stoic line, which continued and, in many ways, rethought Greek Stoicism. Translation by M. Gasparov, heirs, 2020. AST Publishing House, 2024.