§9.9#1ἀμφισβητεῖται δὲ καὶ περὶ τὸν εὐδαίμονα, εἰ δεήσεται φίλων ἢ μή.
But it is also disputed concerning the happy person, whether he will need friends or not.
οὐθὲν γάρ φασι δεῖν φίλων τοῖς μακαρίοις καὶ αὐτάρκεσιν· ὑπάρχειν γὰρ αὐτοῖς τἀγαθά· αὐτάρκεις οὖν ὄντας οὐδενὸς προσδεῖσθαι, τὸν δὲ φίλον, ἕτερον αὐτὸν ὄντα, πορίζειν ἃ διʼ αὑτοῦ ἀδυνατεῖ· ὅθεν
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ὅταν ὁ δαίμων εὖ διδῷ, τί δεῖ φίλων; "
ἔοικε δʼ ἀτόπῳ τὸ πάντʼ ἀπονέμοντας τἀγαθὰ τῷ εὐδαίμονι φίλους μὴ ἀποδιδόναι, ὃ δοκεῖ τῶν ἐκτὸς ἀγαθῶν μέγιστον εἶναι.
For they say that the blessed and self-sufficient people have no need of friends; for they already have good things; therefore, being self-sufficient, they need nothing in addition, whereas a friend, being another self, provides what a person is unable to provide through himself; whence: "When the divinity gives well, what need of friends?" But it seems absurd that, while assigning all good things to the happy person, one should not attribute friends to him, which is thought to be the greatest of external goods.
εἴ τε φίλου μᾶλλόν ἐστι τὸ εὖ ποιεῖν ἢ πάσχειν, καὶ ἔστι τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ καὶ τῆς ἀρετῆς τὸ εὐεργετεῖν, κάλλιον δʼ εὖ ποιεῖν φίλους ὀθνείων, τῶν εὖ πεισομένων δεήσεται ὁ σπουδαῖος.
And if it is more characteristic of a friend to do good than to receive it, and it belongs to the good person and to virtue to do good deeds, and it is nobler to do good to friends than to strangers, the excellent person will need those who will receive his benefits.
διὸ καὶ ἐπιζητεῖται πότερον ἐν εὐτυχίαις μᾶλλον δεῖ φίλων ἢ ἐν ἀτυχίαις, ὡς καὶ τοῦ ἀτυχοῦντος δεομένου τῶν εὐεργετησόντων καὶ τῶν εὐτυχούντων οὓς εὖ ποιήσουσιν.
Therefore, it is also inquired whether one needs friends more in prosperity or in adversity, as the unfortunate person needs those who will do him good, and the fortunate people need those whom they will do good to.
ἄτοπον δʼ ἴσως καὶ τὸ μονώτην ποιεῖν τὸν μακάριον· οὐδεὶς γὰρ ἕλοιτʼ ἂν καθʼ αὑτὸν τὰ πάντʼ ἔχειν ἀγαθά· πολιτικὸν γὰρ ὁ ἄνθρωπος καὶ συζῆν πεφυκός.
And it is perhaps also absurd to make the blessed person a solitary; for no one would choose to have all good things by himself; for man is a political creature and naturally designed to live with others.
καὶ τῷ εὐδαίμονι δὴ τοῦθʼ ὑπάρχει· τὰ γὰρ τῇ φύσει ἀγαθὰ ἔχει, δῆλον δʼ ὡς μετὰ φίλων καὶ ἐπιεικῶν κρεῖττον ἢ μετʼ ὀθνείων καὶ τῶν τυχόντων συνημερεύειν.
And this indeed belongs to the happy person; for he has the things that are good by nature, and it is clear that to spend his days with friends and decent people is better than with strangers and random people.
δεῖ ἄρα τῷ εὐδαίμονι φίλων.
Therefore, the happy person needs friends.
τί οὖν λέγουσιν οἱ πρῶτοι, καὶ πῇ ἀληθεύουσιν;
What, then, do the first group mean, and in what way do they speak the truth?
ἢ ὅτι οἱ πολλοὶ φίλους οἴονται τοὺς χρησίμους εἶναι;
Is it because the many think that friends are those who are useful?
τῶν τοιούτων μὲν οὖν οὐδὲν δεήσεται ὁ μακάριος, ἐπειδὴ τἀγαθὰ ὑπάρχει αὐτῷ· οὐδὲ δὴ τῶν διὰ τὸ ἡδύ, ἢ ἐπὶ μικρόν (ἡδὺς γὰρ ὁ βίος ὢν οὐδὲν δεῖται ἐπεισάκτου ἡδονῆς)· οὐ δεόμενος δὲ τῶν τοιούτων φίλων οὐ δοκεῖ δεῖσθαι φίλων.
Of such friends, indeed, the blessed person will have no need, since he already has good things; nor indeed of those for the sake of pleasure, or only to a small extent (for since his life is pleasant, it needs no imported pleasure); and because he does not need such friends, he seems not to need friends at all.
τὸ δʼ οὐκ ἔστιν ἴσως ἀληθές.
But this is perhaps not true.
ἐν ἀρχῇ γὰρ εἴρηται ὅτι ἡ εὐδαιμονία ἐνέργειά τις ἐστίν, ἡ δʼ ἐνέργεια δῆλον ὅτι γίνεται καὶ οὐχ ὑπάρχει ὥσπερ κτῆμά τι.
For it was said at the beginning that happiness is a certain activity, and activity clearly comes into being and does not belong to one like a piece of property.
εἰ δὲ τὸ εὐδαιμονεῖν ἐστὶν ἐν τῷ ζῆν καὶ ἐνεργεῖν, τοῦ δʼ ἀγαθοῦ ἡ ἐνέργεια σπουδαία καὶ ἡδεῖα καθʼ αὑτήν, καθάπερ ἐν ἀρχῇ εἴρηται, ἔστι δὲ καὶ τὸ οἰκεῖον τῶν ἡδέων, θεωρεῖν δὲ μᾶλλον τοὺς πέλας δυνάμεθα ἢ ἑαυτοὺς καὶ τὰς ἐκείνων πράξεις ἢ τὰς οἰκείας, αἱ τῶν σπουδαίων δὲ πράξεις φίλων ὄντων ἡδεῖαι τοῖς ἀγαθοῖς ʽἁ̓́μφω γὰρ ἔχουσι τὰ τῇ φύσει ἡδέἀ·
And if being happy consists in living and active energizing, and the activity of the good person is excellent and pleasant in itself, as has been said at the beginning, and what is one's own is also among the pleasant things, and we are better able to observe our neighbors than ourselves, and their actions than our own, and the actions of excellent men who are friends are pleasant to good men (for both have the things that are pleasant by nature).
ὁ μακάριος δὴ φίλων τοιούτων δεήσεται, εἴπερ θεωρεῖν προαιρεῖται πράξεις ἐπιεικεῖς καὶ οἰκείας, τοιαῦται δʼ αἱ τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ φίλου ὄντος.
The blessed person, then, will need such friends, if indeed he chooses to observe decent and intimate actions, and such are those of the good person who is a friend.
οἴονταί τε δεῖν ἡδέως ζῆν τὸν εὐδαίμονα.
And people think that the happy person ought to live pleasantly.
μονώτῃ μὲν οὖν χαλεπὸς ὁ βίος· οὐ γὰρ ῥᾴδιον καθʼ αὑτὸν ἐνεργεῖν συνεχῶς, μεθʼ ἑτέρων δὲ καὶ πρὸς ἄλλους ῥᾷον.
Now, for a solitary person life is difficult; for it is not easy to be active continuously by oneself, but with others and towards others it is easier.
ἔσται οὖν ἡ ἐνέργεια συνεχεστέρα, ἡδεῖα οὖσα καθʼ αὑτήν, ὃ δεῖ περὶ τὸν μακάριον εἶναι· ὁ γὰρ σπουδαῖος, ᾗ σπουδαῖος, ταῖς κατʼ ἀρετὴν πράξεσι χαίρει, ταῖς δʼ ἀπὸ κακίας δυσχεραίνει, καθάπερ ὁ μουσικὸς τοῖς καλοῖς μέλεσιν ἥδεται, ἐπὶ δὲ τοῖς φαύλοις λυπεῖται.
Therefore, his activity will be more continuous, being pleasant in itself, which is what must be the case for the blessed person; for the excellent person, insofar as he is excellent, delights in actions in accordance with virtue, and is displeased by those arising from vice, just as the musical person is pleased by beautiful melodies and pained by bad ones.