It had been hard for him that spake it to have put more truth and untruth together in few words, than in that speech, whatsoever is delighted in solitude, is either a wild beast or a god. For a crowd is not company and faces are but a gallery of pictures and talk but a tinkling cymbal, where there is no love. The latin adage meeteth with it a little: magna civitas, magna solitudo because in a great town friends are scattered so that there is not that fellowship, for the most part, which is in less neighborhoods. But we may go further, and affirm most truly, that it is a mere and miserable solitude to want true friends without which the world is but a wilderness and even in this sense also of solitude, whosoever in the frame of his nature and affections, is unfit for friendship, he taketh it of the beast, and not from humanity. A principal fruit of friendship, is the ease and discharge of the fulness and swellings of the heart, which passions of all kinds do cause and induce.

Medical Law And Ethics Paper

It is a strange thing to observe, how high a rate great kings and monarchs do set upon this fruit of friendship, whereof we speak: so great, as they purchase it, many times, at the hazard of their own safety and greatness. For princes, in regard of the distance of their fortune from that of their subjects and servants, cannot gather this fruit, except to make themselves capable thereof they raise some persons to be, as it were, companions and almost equals to themselves, which many times sorteth to inconvenience. The modern languages give unto such persons the name of favorites, or privadoes as if it were matter of grace, or conversation.

But the roman name attaineth the true use and cause thereof, naming them participes curarum for it is that which tieth the knot. And we see plainly that this hath been done, not by weak and passionate princes only, but by the wisest and most politic that ever reigned who have oftentimes joined to themselves some of their servants whom both themselves have called friends, and allowed other likewise to call them in the same manner using the word which is received between private men. Sylla, when he commanded rome, raised pompey after surnamed the great to that height, that pompey vaunted himself for syllas overmatch.

For when he had carried the consulship for a friend of his, against the pursuit of sylla, and that sylla did a little resent thereat, and began to speak great, pompey turned upon him again, and in effect bade him be quiet for that more men adored the sun rising, than the sun setting. With julius caesar, decimus brutus had obtained that interest as he set him down in his testament, for heir in remainder, after his nephew. For when caesar would have discharged the senate, in regard of some ill presages, and specially a dream of calpurnia this man lifted him gently by the arm out of his chair, telling him he hoped he would not dismiss the senate, till his wife had dreamt a better dream. And it seemeth his favor was so great, as antonius, in a letter which is recited verbatim in one of ciceros philippics, calleth him venefica, witch as if he had enchanted caesar. Augustus raised agrippa though of mean birth to that height, as when he consulted with maecenas, about the marriage of his daughter julia, maecenas took the liberty to tell him, that he must either marry his daughter to agrippa, or take away his life there was no third way, he had made him so great. With tiberius caesar, sejanus had ascended to that height, as they two were termed, and reckoned, as a pair of friends.

Tiberius in a letter to him saith, haec pro amicitia nostra non occultavi and the whole senate dedicated an altar to friendship, as to a goddess, in respect of the great dearness of friendship, between them two. For he forced his eldest son to marry the daughter of plautianus and would often maintain plautianus, in doing affronts to his son and did write also in a letter to the senate, by these words: i love the man so well, as i wish he may over live me. It is not to be forgotten, what comineus observeth of his first master, duke charles the hardy, namely, that he would communicate his secrets with none and least of all, those secrets which troubled him most. Whereupon he goeth on, and saith that towards his latter time, that closeness did impair, and a little perish his understanding.

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Surely comineus mought have made the same judgment also, if it had pleased him, of his second master, lewis the eleventh, whose closeness was indeed his tormentor. Certainly, if a man would give it a hard phrase, those that want friends, to open themselves unto, are carnnibals of their own hearts. But one thing is most admirable wherewith i will conclude this first fruit of friendship , which is, that this communicating of a mans self to his friend, works two contrary effects for it redoubleth joys, and cutteth griefs in halves. For there is no man, that imparteth his joys to his friend, but he joyeth the more and no man that imparteth his griefs to his friend, but he grieveth the less.