§8.12ἐν κοινωνίᾳ μὲν οὖν πᾶσα φιλία ἐστίν, καθάπερ εἴρηται.
Every friendship, then, is in community, as has been said.
ἀφορίσειε δʼ ἄν τις τήν τε συγγενικὴν καὶ τὴν ἑταιρικήν.
One might, however, set apart both the friendship of kinsmen and that of companions.
αἱ δὲ πολιτικαὶ καὶ φυλετικαὶ καὶ συμπλοϊκαί, καὶ ὅσαι τοιαῦται, κοινωνικαῖς ἐοίκασι μᾶλλον· οἷον γὰρ καθʼ ὁμολογίαν τινὰ φαίνονται εἶναι.
But friendships of fellow citizens, of fellow tribesmen, of fellow voyagers, and all such, seem rather to be community friendships; for they appear to exist, as it were, by virtue of some compact.
εἰς ταύτας δὲ τάξειεν ἄν τις καὶ τὴν ξενικήν.
Under these, one might also class the friendship of hospitality.
καὶ ἡ συγγενικὴ δὲ φαίνεται πολυειδὴς εἶναι, ἠρτῆσθαι δὲ πᾶσα ἐκ τῆς πατρικῆς· οἱ γονεῖς μὲν γὰρ στέργουσι τὰ τέκνα ὡς ἑαυτῶν τι ὄντα, τὰ δὲ τέκνα τοὺς γονεῖς ὡς ἀπʼ ἐκείνων τι ὄντα.
Paternal friendship also appears to be of many forms, but all dependent on the paternal; for parents love their children as being something of themselves, and children love their parents as being something from them.
μᾶλλον δʼ ἴσασιν οἱ γονεῖς τὰ ἐξ αὑτῶν ἢ τὰ γεννηθέντα ὅτι ἐκ τούτων, καὶ μᾶλλον συνωκείωται τὸ ἀφʼ οὗ τῷ γεννηθέντι ἢ τὸ γενόμενον τῷ ποιήσαντι· τὸ γὰρ ἐξ αὐτοῦ οἰκεῖον τῷ ἀφʼ οὗ, οἷον ὀδοὺς θρὶξ ὁτιοῦν τῷ ἔχοντι· ἐκείνῳ δʼ οὐδὲν τὸ ἀφʼ οὗ, ἢ ἧττον.
And parents know better that their offspring are from them than the offspring know that they are from them; and that from which one came is more closely related to the begotten than the begotten is to the generator; for what comes from oneself is belonging to the source—for instance, a tooth, hair, or anything else to its possessor—but the source is not at all belonging to what came from it, or is less so.
καὶ τῷ πλήθει δὲ τοῦ χρόνου· οἳ μὲν γὰρ εὐθὺς γενόμενα στέργουσιν, τὰ δὲ προελθόντος χρόνου τοὺς γονεῖς, σύνεσιν ἢ αἴσθησιν λαβόντα.
Also in length of time; for parents love them as soon as they are born, but children love their parents only when time has passed and they have acquired understanding or perception.
ἐκ τούτων δὲ δῆλον καὶ διʼ ἃ φιλοῦσι μᾶλλον αἱ μητέρες.
From this it is also clear why mothers love their children more.
γονεῖς μὲν οὖν τέκνα φιλοῦσιν ὡς ἑαυτούς (τὰ γὰρ ἐξ αὐτῶν οἷον ἕτεροι αὐτοὶ τῷ κεχωρίσθαι), τέκνα δὲ γονεῖς ὡς ἀπʼ ἐκείνων πεφυκότα, ἀδελφοὶ δʼ ἀλλήλους τῷ ἐκ τῶν αὐτῶν πεφυκέναι· ἡ γὰρ πρὸς ἐκεῖνα ταυτότης ἀλλήλοις ταὐτὸ ποιεῖ· ὅθεν φασὶ ταὐτὸν αἷμα καὶ ῥίζαν καὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα.
So, parents love their children as themselves (for what comes from them is like another self by being separate); and children love their parents as being born from them, and brothers love one another by having been born from the same parents; for their identity with those parents makes them identical with one another; whence people speak of "the same blood," "the same root," and so on.
εἰσὶ δὴ ταὐτό πως καὶ ἐν διῃρημένοις.
They are indeed, in a way, the same thing, even in separate individuals.
μέγα δὲ πρὸς φιλίαν καὶ τὸ σύντροφον καὶ τὸ καθʼ ἡλικίαν· ἧλιξ γὰρ ἥλικα, καὶ οἱ συνήθεις ἑταῖροι· διὸ καὶ ἡ ἀδελφικὴ τῇ ἑταιρικῇ ὁμοιοῦται.
Growing up together and being of the same age also contribute greatly to friendship; for "equals delight in equals," and those who are accustomed to each other are companions; wherefore also the friendship of brothers resembles that of companions.
ἀνεψιοὶ δὲ καὶ οἱ λοιποὶ συγγενεῖς ἐκ τούτων συνῳκείωνται· τῷ γὰρ ἀπὸ τῶν αὐτῶν εἶναι.
Cousins and other relatives are bound together starting from these, for it is by virtue of being from the same ancestors.
γίνονται δʼ οἳ μὲν οἰκειότεροι οἳ δʼ ἀλλοτριώτεροι τῷ σύνεγγυς ἢ πόρρω τὸν ἀρχηγὸν εἶναι.
And they become more closely related or more distant by the common ancestor being near or far.
ἔστι δʼ ἡ μὲν πρὸς γονεῖς φιλία τέκνοις, καὶ ἀνθρώποις πρὸς θεούς, ὡς πρὸς ἀγαθὸν καὶ ὑπερέχον· εὖ γὰρ πεποιήκασι τὰ μέγιστα· τοῦ γὰρ εἶναι καὶ τραφῆναι αἴτιοι, καὶ γενομένοις τοῦ παιδευθῆναι·
The friendship of children toward parents, and of humans toward gods, is as toward what is good and superior; for they have done them the greatest benefits, being the causes of their existence and nurture, and of their education after they were born.
ἔχει δὲ καὶ τὸ ἡδὺ καὶ τὸ χρήσιμον ἡ τοιαύτη φιλία μᾶλλον τῶν ὀθνείων, ὅσῳ καὶ κοινότερος ὁ βίος αὐτοῖς ἐστίν.
Such friendship also possesses the pleasant and the useful to a greater degree than does friendship with strangers, in proportion as their life is more shared.
ἔστι δὲ καὶ ἐν τῇ ἀδελφικῇ ἅπερ καὶ ἐν τῇ ἑταιρικῇ καὶ μᾶλλον ἐν τοῖς ἐπιεικέσι, καὶ ὅλως ἐν τοῖς ὁμοίοις, ὅσῳ οἰκειότεροι καὶ ἐκ γενετῆς ὑπάρχουσι στέργοντες ἀλλήλους, καὶ ὅσῳ ὁμοηθέστεροι οἱ ἐκ τῶν αὐτῶν καὶ σύντροφοι καὶ παιδευθέντες ὁμοίως· καὶ ἡ κατὰ τὸν χρόνον δοκιμασία πλείστη καὶ βεβαιοτάτη.
There exist also in brotherly friendship the same elements as in companion friendship, and to a greater degree among decent people, and generally among those who are alike, in proportion as they are more closely related and have loved one another from birth, and in proportion as those from the same parents, who grew up together and were educated alike, are more similar in character; and the test of time is most thorough and most reliable.
ἀνάλογον δὲ καὶ ἐν τοῖς λοιποῖς τῶν συγγενῶν τὰ φιλικά.
Analogously, the friendly relations exist also among the rest of the relatives.
ἀνδρὶ δὲ καὶ γυναικὶ φιλία δοκεῖ κατὰ φύσιν ὑπάρχειν· ἄνθρωπος γὰρ τῇ φύσει συνδυαστικὸν μᾶλλον ἢ πολιτικόν, ὅσῳ πρότερον καὶ ἀναγκαιότερον οἰκία πόλεως, καὶ τεκνοποιία κοινότερον τοῖς ζῴοις.
Friendship between husband and wife seems to exist by nature; for human is by nature more of a pairing than a political animal, in so far as the household is prior and more necessary than the city, and the procreation of offspring is more common to animals.
τοῖς μὲν οὖν ἄλλοις ἐπὶ τοσοῦτον ἡ κοινωνία ἐστίν, οἱ δʼ ἄνθρωποι οὐ μόνον τῆς τεκνοποιίας χάριν συνοικοῦσιν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῶν εἰς τὸν βίον· εὐθὺς γὰρ διῄρηται τὰ ἔργα, καὶ ἔστιν ἕτερα ἀνδρὸς καὶ γυναικός· ἐπαρκοῦσιν οὖν ἀλλήλοις, εἰς τὸ κοινὸν τιθέντες τὰ ἴδια.
So, in the other animals community exists only to this extent, but humans live together not only for the sake of procreating offspring, but also for the things needed for life; for from the start their functions are divided, and those of husband and wife are different; they assist each other, therefore, throwing their own things into the common stock.
διὰ ταῦτα δὲ καὶ τὸ χρήσιμον εἶναι δοκεῖ καὶ τὸ ἡδὺ ἐν ταύτῃ τῇ φιλίᾳ.
Because of these things, both the useful and the pleasant seem to exist in this friendship.
εἴη δʼ ἂν καὶ διʼ ἀρετήν, εἰ ἐπιεικεῖς εἶεν· ἔστι γὰρ ἑκατέρου ἀρετή, καὶ χαίροιεν ἂν τῷ τοιούτῳ.
And it might also be based on virtue, if they are decent; for there is a virtue belonging to each, and they would delight in such a thing.
σύνδεσμος δὲ τὰ τέκνα δοκεῖ εἶναι· διὸ θᾶττον οἱ ἄτεκνοι διαλύονται· τὰ γὰρ τέκνα κοινὸν ἀγαθὸν ἀμφοῖν, συνέχει δὲ τὸ κοινόν.
Children seem to be a bond; which is why the childless part more quickly; for children are a common good to both, and what is common holds them together.
τὸ δὲ πῶς βιωτέον ἀνδρὶ πρὸς γυναῖκα καὶ ὅλως φίλῳ πρὸς φίλον, οὐδὲν ἕτερον φαίνεται ζητεῖσθαι ἢ πῶς δίκαιον· οὐ γὰρ ταὐτὸν φαίνεται τῷ φίλῳ πρὸς τὸν φίλον καὶ τὸν ὀθνεῖον καὶ τὸν ἑταῖρον καὶ τὸν συμφοιτητήν.
But how a husband should live toward his wife, and in general a friend toward a friend, seems to be nothing other than seeking how it is just; for what is just does not appear to be the same for a friend toward a friend as toward a stranger, or toward a companion, or a schoolfellow.