Psychology

Cicero’s definition of friendship makes us all wonder today what the true meaning of friendship really is. From reading Cicero’s belief of friendship it has made me question myself and think do I have real friends' And Am I a real friend' I believe in all of Cicero’s views about friendship. I that there are many different types of friendships. I believe there are those who love you and then there are those who support you and are there for you sometimes. I refer to those who are only there for you sometimes as acquaintances. Friendships that are not strong easily fail because of many factors such as lose in communication, you just letting them go, and or being to much of needy of a friend. It’s a simple question that you should ask yourself every now and then. Are you a real friend' And who are your real friends' A real friend is a friend that is willing to do almost anything for you, because they care about you, and they love you. Cicero believes that real friends are hard to find. Which is true if you think about it. At the end of your life you could just have one or two true friends that really care about you. Friendships are valuable and that’s what makes it so hard to find a good friend. Cicero says, “ For friendship is nothing other than the harmony of all divine and human things, established in good will and love” (Cicero, page 7). Cicero is trying to explain to us that there really is nothing better in the world than a good friend with good will and love to offer. I believe that really there is nothing better than to have a friend that loves you and will be there for support no matter what. I only have two true friends and I am so thankful for them, so far they both have been there whenever I have needed them. Though there is a time when we have to just let our friends go, and friendships then fail. Friendships that are not strong can easily fail due to lack of communication, keeping score, too needy of a friend, or because that person has gone away to be successful and can no longer carry the friendship on. Do you ever find yourself thinking I did this for my friend, and they did not do anything for me in return' That’s keeping score and according to Cicero true friends do not do that. Wealth cannot buy friendship Cicero says “ we must not listen to those men abounding in pleasures who will discourse about a friendship whish they do not have either in practice or theory”(Cicero page, 16). Receiving, and giving only material things is not what a friendship is about its about loving someone and being loved. Although there are friends that keep score, there are also friends that are just to needy. What I mean by this is when a friend always needs you in there presence. There is only so much time that you want to spend with your friend every now and then. When they expect you around all the time this is when you should let them go. Cicero points out faults that we do not think about when questioning ourselves about friendship. There is a point where a friendship can turn into a strong affection of love. Which is marriage. Love can be defined in various ways, but no matter what it takes a strong friendship to start any kind of love. Our parents love us because we are their children and they usually want us to be successful. If you think about it our parents are true friends. They go above and beyond to raise us in a way that will make us successful. This is because they care and love us. There are different loves. There is love in a friendship and love through affection. There is no strong affection shown in a friendship. Through both types of love Cicero says, “ you should never be afraid of something not working out, or falling to the ground and somebody seems to be getting more out of the friendship than the other”(Cicero, page 17). Through any type of love you should not experience a feeling of unbalanced love. A marriage is a strong bond between two people that show affection and love for one another in a way that friends do not. There is a line drawn between your love for a friend and love for your lover.