“What can be more delightful than to have some one to whom you can say everything with the same absolute confidence as to yourself?”
- Source
- Laelius on Friendship
- Date
- 44 BCE
- Attribution
- Source identified
- Voice / speaker
- Dialogue speaker · Gaius Laelius
- English wording
- Evelyn S. Shuckburgh — Translator · from Latin
What does this quote mean?
Close friendship creates a rare space for frank speech because confidence in the other person removes the need for continual self-protection.
Where does it come from?
Laelius on Friendship, translated by Evelyn S. Shuckburgh in Project Gutenberg’s Treatises on Friendship and Old Age.
Who voices the line?
Dialogue speaker · Gaius Laelius. Laelius on Friendship / De Amicitia. Cicero’s preface identifies Laelius as the chief speaker and says the whole essay on friendship is his response to Fannius and Scaevola.
The source author and the local speaker can be different, especially in fiction, drama, dialogue and poetry.
How should this attribution be read?
This wording is connected with the named source shown above. Translations and editions can vary, so consult the source note when exact wording matters.