But I will tell you of many a murder
and war and death for the sake of a friend, to
show that it is childish to compare your case with
ours in Scythia. Still, your feeling is reasonable
enough, and it is natural that you should eulogize
these small matters, for you have no great occasions for displaying friendship, sunk in peace as
you are, just as calm weather furnishes no opportunity to learn a pilot's quality. You need a
storm for that. But with us one war follows on
the heels of another, and we are either riding
against some one else, or retiring before invaders,
or falling to and fighting about pasturage or booty.
In these emergencies, above all others, a man
needs stanch friends. Accordingly, we cement
friendships in the most enduring way, deeming
them our only invincible weapons.