Cicero's Writings on Friendship

Paper Summary:

The Roman politician and philosopher Cicero, in his writings on friendship, conceived of it as being a high-order relationship; a relationship that was so intense and personal that it seems, in his view, to be more important than any other human bond. However, Cicero was a philosopher and, as such, was honour bound to give consideration to opposing arguments. One view of friendship in particular - what may be termed the cynical or realistic thesis - caused him great difficulty in his discussion. From this perspective, friendship is nothing more than a mode of exchange or an association between two parties for mutual profit or benefit. In this paper we will examine the reasons behind Cicero's difficulty in dismissing this counter-definition of friendship. As a counterpoint to Cicero's view of friendship, we will analyze the depiction of love in the love poetry of John Donne.

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