This fine edition of Cicero's treatises on the topics of friendship, old age and life contains the respected translation of E. S. Shuckburgh. Written in the second century A.D., these writings encapsulate the wisdom and ability possessed by their author. Already well into maturity, it is here that the accumulated experience of a man who had - in an illustrious career of public service in the Roman Empire - seen and known all manner of events and people in his bustling society. The attributes important to friendship are identified by Cicero as he discusses the qualities a good friend should have. There are several intractable virtues of friendship, which must be preserved lest the union be damaged. The second treatise elaborates upon what it is to be old. Writing so as to echo the much esteemed Cato the Elder, the beauty and profundity of the words in this essay are significant. The clear and plain yet succinct and wistfully eloquent words elaborate on aging and the concerns that arrive with it.