Friendship
Essay # 1
Friendship increases our happiness and diminishes our misery,’ said the great Roman orator Cicero, “by doubling our joy and dividing our grief.”
When we do well, it is delightful to have friends who are so proud of our success that they receive much pleasure from it as we do ourselves.
For the friendless man, the attainment of power, wealth and honour is of little value. Such possessions contribute to our happiness most by enabling us to do good to others, but it Is to all those whom we are able to benefit or strangers who take far less pleasure in our benefits than if it is exerted on behalf of friends whose happiness is as dear to us as our own.
Further, when we do our duty inspite of temptation, the mental satisfaction obtained from the approval of conscience is heightened by the praise of our friends for their judgment is as useful as a second conscience, encouraging us in good and deterring us from evil.
Our amusements have become worthless and soon pull upon us if we engage in them in solitude or with uncongenial companions for whom we can feel no affection. Thus in every case, our joys are rendered more intense and more permanent by being shared with friends.
It is equally true that as Cicero points out, friendship reduces our misery by enabling us to share the burden of it with others.
When fortune has inflicted a heavy unavoidable pain, upon us our grief is alleviated by friendly condolence and by the thought that as long as our friends are left to us life is still worth living.
But many misfortunes which threaten us are not inevitable and in escaping such misfortunes, the active assistance and advice of our friends may be invaluable.
The friendless man stands alone exposed without protection to his enemies and to the blows of misfortune but whoever has loyal friends is thereby! provided with a strong defence against the worst that fortune can do to him.
It cannot be forgotten that the people who are proud to fall upon their knees to do us honour when success is with, as may be the first to throw stones of malice when failure sheds its cloud upon our heads.
Friendship
Essay # 2
The great Roman orator, Cicero, in his celebrated treatise on Friendship, remarks with the truth that it increases happiness and diminishes misery by the doubling of our joy and the dividing of our grief. When we do well, it is delightful to have friends who are so proud of our success that they receive as much pleasure from it as we do ourselves. For the friendless man, the attainment of wealth, power, and honour is of little value. Such possessions contribute to our happiness most by enabling us to do good to others, but if all those whom we are able to benefit are strangers, we take far less pleasure in our beneficence than if it were exerted on behalf of friends whose happiness is as dear to us as our own. Further, when we do our duty in spite of temptation, the mental satisfaction obtained from the approval of our consciences is heightened by the praise of our friends for their judgement is as it were a second conscience, encouraging us in good and deterring us from evil. Our amusements have little zest and soon fall upon us if we engage in them in solitude, or with uncongenial companions, for whom we can feel no affection. Thus in every case, our joys are rendered more intense and more permanent by being shared with friends.
It is equally true that friendship diminishes our misery by enabling us to share the burden of it with others. When fortune has inflicted a heavy un-avoidable blow upon us, our grief is alleviated by friendly condolence and by the thought that, as long as our friends are left to us, life is still worth living.
But many misfortunes which threaten us are not inevitable and in escaping such misfortunes, the advice and active assistance of our friends may be invaluable. The friendless man stands alone, exposed without protection to his enemies and to the blows of fortune; but whoever has loyal friends is thereby provided with a strong defence against the worst that fortune can do to him.
Thus in good and evil fortune, in our work and in our hours of recreation, the possession of true friends is the most important means to the attainment of happiness and the alleviation or avoidance of misery. It must be remembered, however, that these remarks only apply to friends really worthy of the name. The evil that may be effected by bad friends is as great as well secured by the possession of good friends. On this account, the right selection of friends is a matter of vital importance. We should select our friends with the greatest care, and, when we have won them and found them worthy, we should take care to retain them, till we are severed from them by death.
