Full Idea
Friendship seems to be the bond that holds communities together, and lawgivers seem to attach more importance to it than to justice.
Gist of Idea
Friendship holds communities together, and lawgivers value it more than justice
Source
Aristotle (Nicomachean Ethics [c.334 BCE], 1155a23)
Book Reference
Aristotle: 'Ethics (Nicomachean)', ed/tr. ThomsonJ A K/TredennickH [Penguin 1976], p.258
A Reaction
An interesting aspect of the Aristotelian view of society which we now call 'communitarian'. Even lawgivers should be concerned with friendship (how?). There is 'such a thing as society', because friendship networks overlap.