Sunday, January 31, 2021

The Virtue of Friendship

How to Be a Friend: An Ancient Guide to True Friendship
How to Be a Friend: 
An Ancient Guide to 
True Friendship 
"It seems to me that friendship arises from nature itself rather than from any need, along with an inclination of the soul joined with a sense of love rather than a calculation of how useful the relationship might be." (p 55)






Cicero's dialogue on friendship demonstrates his approach to philosophy, drawing on the work of the Greeks that preceded him, especially Plato and Aristotle. While set in the Rome of his day, he harkens back to those thinkers who defined such concepts as virtue and the Good. A notable example being Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics.

Cicero states that "the very essence of friendship" is "a common set of beliefs, aspirations, and opinions." (p 31). He further states that friendship is only possible between those who "act and live so that their lives give proof of faithfulness, integrity, fairness, and generosity; and who are free from any low passion, greed, or violence; and are of great strength of character," (p 37). Most important for true friendship, however, is virtue and "virtue, too, loves itself," (p 165); in conclusion he states, "I say it is virtue that creates and preserves friendships. Virtue is the source of compatibility, stability, and permanence." (p 169)

Cicero's stance would seem to be one that in most respects is consistent with some modern views as it prominently does not depend on "service above self", but is consistent with integrity and treating others with respect while acting virtuously. This translation by Philip Freeman is felicitous in making Cicero's beautiful Latin prose read as fluently in contemporary English. The result is a demonstration that we can still learn from the classical thinkers of Rome and Greece.


7 comments:

Brian Joseph said...

I have not read Cicero but I should give this a read.

This is particularly interesting as I just finished Thomas Rick's First Principals.That talks about how America's Founders, particularly Washington read and were influenced by Cicero.

James said...

Brian,
This is just one sample of what made Cicero Rome's greatest orator. It demonstrates why the Founders of our country admired him. BTW I have First Principles on my tbr pile and look forward to your thoughts about it.

Ruth @ with freedom and books said...

I've never heard of this, but this is a topic I think I could read. It reminds me of How to Make Friends and Influence People by Carnegie. LOL! My problem is that I have not had good success reading the ancients. I probably need a good translation. I'll have to make a note about Freeman.

James said...

Ruth,
I think it would be worth your reading time to check this out. The translation by Philip Freeman is one of the best I have encountered when reading Latin classics.

Ruth @ with freedom and books said...

OK, great! I'm going to write that down. Who else would you suggest, for example, for works like Plato's? I didn't see a translation, by Freeman, of The Republic.

James said...

Ruth,
The translations for Plato that are available vary from dialogue to dialogue. Based on my experience reading The Republic I would recommend the translations of Robin Waterfield. He has translated several other Platonic dialogues along with Plutarch and Herodotus.

Ruth @ with freedom and books said...

I will look at Robin Waterfield. Thanks, James.