It is with friendship as it is with the virtues; men are called good in two senses,
either as having a virtuous disposition or as realizing virtue in action, and similarly
friends when in each other's company derive pleasure from and confer benefits on each
other, whereas friends who are asleep or parted are not actively friendly, yet have the
disposition to be so. For separation does not destroy friendship absolutely, though it
prevents its active exercise. If however the absence be prolonged, it seems to cause the
friendly feeling itself to be forgotten: hence the poet's remark1
“
Full many a man finds friendship end
For lack of converse with his friend.
”
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1 The source of this is unknown.
Aristotle in 23 Volumes, Vol. 19, translated by H. Rackham. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1934.
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