This text is part of:
Search the Perseus Catalog for:
View text chunked by:
- bekker page : bekker line
- book : chapter : section
and this is most fully realized in the
friendships of the good. 6.
Morose and elderly people rarely make friends, as they are inclined to be surly, and do
not take much pleasure in society; good temper and sociability appear to be the chief
constituents or causes of friendship. Hence the young make friends quickly, but the old do
not, since they do not make friends with people if they do not enjoy their company; and
the same applies to persons of a morose temper. It is true that the old or morose may feel
goodwill for each other, since they may wish each other well and help each other in case
of need; but they cannot properly be called friends, as they do not seek each other's
society nor enjoy it, and these are thought to be the chief marks of friendship.
[2]
It is not possible to have many friends in the full meaning of the word friendship, any
more than it is to be in love with many people at once (love indeed seems to be
an excessive state of emotion, such as is naturally felt towards one person
only); and it is not easy for the same person to like a number of people at once,
nor indeed perhaps can good men be found in large numbers.
[3]
Also for perfect friendship you must get to know a man thoroughly, and become intimate
with him, which is a very difficult thing to do. But it is possible to like a number of
persons for their utility and pleasantness, for useful and pleasant people are plentiful,
and the benefits they confer can be enjoyed at once.
[4]
Of these two inferior kinds of friendship, the one that more closely resembles true
friendship is that based on pleasure, in which the same benefit is conferred by both
parties, and they enjoy each other's company, or have common tastes;