Tusculan Disputations is a set of five philosophical essays written by Marcus Tullius Cicero around 45 BCE, during a period when he had withdrawn from active political life. The work is presented as a series of dialogues held at Cicero's villa in Tusculum, where he and an unnamed student discuss major questions of ethics and human life. Cicero uses these conversations to explore how philosophy can help people endure suffering and achieve a good life.