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The excerpt represents the core issue or deciding factor on which you must meditate, and is drawn from Lysis by Plato: This question, which, like many others, is only one of a laxer or stricter
use of words, seems to have greatly exercised the minds both of Aristotle
and Plato.
5) Can we expect friendship to be permanent, or must we acknowledge with
Cicero, 'Nihil difficilius quam amicitiam usque ad extremum vitae
permanere'? Is not friendship, even more than love, liable to be swayed by
the caprices of fancy? The person who pleased us most at first sight or
upon a slight acquaintance, when we have seen him again, and under
different circumstances, may make a much less favourable impression on our
minds. Young people swear 'eternal friendships,' but at these innocent
perjuries their elders laugh. No one forms a friendship with the intention
Lysis |
