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Single Idea 7895
[filed under theme 23. Ethics / C. Virtue Theory / 4. External Goods / d. Friendship
]
Full Idea
If on the great journey of life a man cannot find one who is better or at least as good as himself, let him joyfully travel alone: a fool cannot help him on his journey.
Gist of Idea
Don't befriend fools; either find superior friends, or travel alone
Source
Anon (Dham) (The DhammaPada [c.250 BCE], §5.61)
Book Ref
'The DhammaPada', ed/tr. Mascaro,Juan [Penguin 1973], p.44
A Reaction
This is a slightly disturbing aspect of Buddhism, possibly leading to contradiction. It urges friendship and love, but the finest people will have virtually no friends, and solitude is presented as a finer state than friendship.
The
21 ideas
with the same theme
[close personal relationships as a virtue]:
294
|
People say that friendship exists only between good men
[Plato]
|
156
|
Bad people are never really friends with one another
[Plato]
|
3027
|
Cyrenaics say wise men are self-sufficient, needing no friends
[Aristippus young, by Diog. Laertius]
|
2686
|
Aristotle does not confine supreme friendship to moral heroes
[Cooper,JM on Aristotle]
|
2687
|
For Aristotle in the best friendships the binding force is some excellence of character
[Cooper,JM on Aristotle]
|
85
|
Bad men can have friendships of utility or pleasure, but only good men can be true friends
[Aristotle]
|
23919
|
Friendship cannot be immediate; it takes time, and needs testing
[Aristotle]
|
23920
|
Decent people can be friends with base people
[Aristotle]
|
2808
|
Master and slave can have friendship through common interests
[Aristotle]
|
12275
|
We value friendship just for its own sake
[Aristotle]
|
1843
|
Friendship is by far the most important ingredient of a complete and happy life
[Epicurus]
|
511
|
It is better to have one intelligent friend than many unintelligent
[Democritus (attr)]
|
7895
|
Don't befriend fools; either find superior friends, or travel alone
[Anon (Dham)]
|
7916
|
True friendship is even rarer than true love
[Rochefoucauld]
|
21093
|
Friendship without community spirit misses out on the main part of virtue
[Hume]
|
14841
|
Many people are better at having good friends than being a good friend
[Nietzsche]
|
14843
|
Women can be friends with men, but only some physical antipathy will maintain it
[Nietzsche]
|
18295
|
If you want friends, you must be a fighter
[Nietzsche]
|
23834
|
Friendship is partly universal - the love of a person is like the ideal of loving everyone
[Weil]
|
7094
|
Friends express friendship even when no utility is involved
[Statman]
|
2685
|
The Greek 'philia' covers all good and fruitful relationships
[Cooper,JM]
|