 Cicero decided to stay with his friend Titus Pomponius Atticus for a time , during which he perused Atticus 's library , reading any and all books that dealt with overcoming grief . Unsatisfied with what he found , he relocated to his villa at Astura , where he composed the Consolatio . It was during this time that he also wrote the famed — and now lost — dialogue Hortensius . Cicero later opined that the Consolatio was written in an attempt not only to heal himself emotionally , but also to benefit others who are mourning or experiencing sadness . 
