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Aristotle · Great Ethics §2.17.1-2.17.2

Complaints and Reciprocal Demands in Equal Friendships

Passage 71 of 71 · Greek

Summary

In examining how to treat a friend, the author argues that complaints and disputes arise not in unequal friendships like that of a father and son, but in friendships among equals due to expectations of mutual reciprocity.

§2.17.1μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα σκεπτέον ἂν εἴη πῶς δεῖ φίλῳ χρῆσθαι.
After these things, it would be necessary to consider how one ought to treat a friend.
ἔστι δʼ οὐκ ἐν ἁπάσῃ φιλίᾳ ἡ ακέψις, ἀλλʼ ἐν μάλιστα ἐγκαλοῦσιν ἀλλήλοις οἱ φίλοι.
But this consideration does not belong to every friendship, but to that in which friends especially complain against one another.
οὐκ ἐγκαλοῦοι δὲ ἐν ταῖς ἄλλαις ὁμοίως, οἷον ἐν τῇ πατρὸς πρὸς υἱὸν οὐκ ἔστιν ἔγκλημα τοιοὕτον οἷον ἀξιοῦσιν ἐν ἐνίαες, ὥσπιρ ἐγὼ σοί, οὕτως καὶ σὺ ἐμοί, εἰ δὲ μή, ἐνταῦθα τὸ σφοδρὸν ἔγκλημα· §2.17.2ἐν δὲ ἀνίσοις φίλοις οὐκ ἔστι τὸ ἴσον, ἔστι δὲ ἡ πααπτρὸς πρὸς υῖὸν φιλία ἐν ἀνίσῳ, ὁμοίως ἡ γυναικὸς πρὸς ἄνδρα ἢ οἰκέτου πρὸς δεσπότην, καὶ ὅλως δὲ χείρονος καὶ βελτίονος.
And they do not complain in the other friendships in the same way; for example, in that of a father toward a son, there is no such complaint as they claim in some friendships, namely: "just as I am to you, so you also should be to me; and if not, therein lies the violent complaint." But among unequal friends there is no equality, and the friendship of a father toward a son is between unequals, and likewise that of a wife toward a husband, or of a servant toward a master, and in general of the inferior and the superior.
οὐχ ἕξουσιν δὴ τὰ τοιαῦτα ἐγκλήμεπτα.
These friendships, indeed, will not have such complaints.
ἀλλʼ ἐν τοῖς ἴσοις φίλοις καὶ ἐν τῇ 〈τοι〉αύτῃ φιλίᾳ τὸ τοιοῦτον ἔγκλημα.
Rather, it is among equal friends and in such a friendship that this kind of complaint occurs.
ὥστε σκεπτέον ἂν εἴη τὸ πῶς δεῖ χρῆσθαι φίλῳ ἐν τῇ ἐν ἴσοις φίλοις φιλίᾳ. **.
Therefore, it would be necessary to consider how one ought to treat a friend in the friendship that is among equals.

Notes

  1. 2.17.1ἐν μάλιστα — Omission of the relative pronoun or its antecedent. Structurally, it stands for `ἐν ᾗ μάλιστα` ("in that [friendship] in which especially") or `ἐν οἷς μάλιστα` ("among those who especially"). In this context, supplying the feminine relative pronoun referring to `φιλίᾳ` (friendship) is the most natural reading.
  2. 2.17.1ὥσπερ ἐγὼ σοί, οὕτως καὶ σὺ ἐμοί, εἰ δὲ μή — A direct-speech style expression of the demand for equal reciprocity in friendships of equality. `εἰ δὲ μή` ("if not / otherwise") sets up the condition of failing this reciprocal expectation, leading directly to "the violent complaint" (τὸ σφοδρὸν ἔγκλημα). Ellipsis of verbs (such as `ποιεῖς` or `γίγνεται`) is characteristic of this rapid conversational formula.
  3. 2.17.2ἐν τῇ 〈τοι〉αύτῃ φιλίᾳ — The manuscript reading `ἐν τῇ αὐτῇ` ("in the same friendship") is emended by editors to `〈τοι〉αύτῃ` ("in such [equal] friendship"). It stands in parallel with `ἐν τοῖς ἴσοις φίλοις` ("among equal friends") and refers to friendship based on equality.

Cite this passage

Aristotle, Great Ethics §2.17.1-2.17.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0086.tlg022.humanitext-grc1:2.17.1-2.17.2

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