Let this, then, be laid down as the first law of friendship, that we should ask from friends, and do for friends', only what is good.
Cicero: “Let this, then, be laid down as the first law of friendship, that we should ask from friends, and do for friends', only…”
Editor's note · Context
From a philosophical treatise on the nature of friendship, this passage establishes a fundamental ethical principle for such relationships.
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And so, when we have leisure from the demands of business cares, we are eager to see, to hear, to learn something new, and we esteem a desire to know the secrets or wonders of creation as indispensable to a happy life.
In my opinion, at least, we should always strive to secure a peace that shall not admit of guile.
Whether we do the kindness or not is optional; but to fail to requite one is not allowable to a good man, provided he can make the requital without violating the rights of others.
But for all cases we have one rule, with which I desire you to be perfectly familiar: that which seems expedient must not be morally wrong; or, if it is morally wrong, it must not seem expedient.





