Abstract
This paper argues that Cornelius Nepos when composing his Life of Atticus incorporated principles articulated in Cicero's De Amicitia yet broadened them to fit his presentation of Atticus as an ideal friend. The connections between Nepos, Atticus, and Cicero are reviewed, and the correspondences between the two texts are collected and contextualized. Cicero's elevation of true friendship over transactional friendship provides Nepos the rhetorical stance and moral basis to justify Atticus's practice even as Nepos discards Cicero's ideal of paired friends and renders Atticus an ideal friend to all.
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