Friendship

According to Voltaire, friendship “is an unspoken contract between two sensitive and virtuous individuals.”

He categorically stated that true friendship can only exist between good-hearted people. This statement may seem very generic and of little influence or importance. However, let me explain how I address it in my three-day retreat and the reflections he makes regarding other types of relationships so that you can distinguish friendship from what is not friendship. I hope this is useful to you and I look forward to your comments.

Wicked people only have accomplices.

Self-interested individuals relate to you as partners.

Political people relate to you as supporters.

Royalty has subjects. You become a subject of the Queen’s River family. Of course, it can also occur with people who do not have the rank or wealth of a king but have the attitude and behaviors. And they treat you as a subject.

That’s why Voltaire concluded by saying that only good-hearted people have friends.

There is another great philosopher who spoke about friendship, and I want to quote him specifically:

Aristotle indicates that the term “friendship” has different meanings: one is defined by pleasure, another by utility, and the third by virtue.

1. Friendship by pleasure: It is based on the pleasure that one can receive from the other. It occurs mainly among young people.
2. Friendship by utility: They feel friendship to the extent that each person reciprocally receives a benefit. The friend proves useful, and a benefit is received.
3. Friendship by virtue: This is authentic friendship, true friendship; it is based on goodness; they do not demand anything external from the friend, as the feeling is centered on the desire for good for the friend, for the sake of the friend themselves. It occurs in people who do not change their minds and whose character is stable.

In conclusion, only true friends can speak with complete confidence to share sorrows and joys without fearing betrayal.

Thank you for reading, and I look forward to my next article.

• Dr. Roch

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