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December 07, 2017
Cicero: On Friendship.
“Like lawyers and politicians in the 21 centuries after him, Marcus Tullius Cicero, the versatile Roman advocate, statesman, philosopher and writer, was complex. He was vain, clever, opinionated and often maddeningly risk-averse. He annoyed people by being too blunt or too indirect. But he had fiercely loyal and admiring friends, as well as enemies. He believed that friendship, next to wisdom, was the greatest gift “bestowed on man by the gods.” On Friendship (Aris & Phillips, 1991), edited by J.G.F. Powell, offers moving passages on the meaning of a bond with another person—and the problems and responsibilities involved. To Cicero, authentic friendship was not passive or cautious. He felt you had to “step up” without being asked. And he was keenly aware that relationships were tougher to form and maintain with those who, like himself, were driven and ambitious. ‘Real friendships,’ he wrote, ‘are found with most difficulty among those who are invested with high offices, or in business of the state.’”
Dan Hull is a business lawyer and lobbyist with the San Diego office of Hull McGuire PC. His blog is WhatAboutClients.com.
Posted by JD Hull at December 7, 2017 11:48 PM