Source edition
Plutarch. Plutarchi Chaeronensis Moralia, Vol I. Vernardakēs, Grēgorios N., editor. Leipzig: Teubner, 1888.
Source data
Perseus Digital Library · CC BY-SA (per Perseus's terms)
Cloned and adapted by Humanitext, with ongoing edits.
Summary
This ethical essay discusses the pitfalls of seeking too many friends and argues that true friendship can only exist among a small number of people. Drawing on anecdotes from philosophers like Socrates and Pythagoras, the author points out the folly of pursuing an excessive number of social connections. He argues that genuine friendship requires careful testing and time, whereas having many friends dilutes the depth of relationships, leads to conflicts from conflicting demands, and increases the danger of being dragged into others' misfortunes. Furthermore, since the essence of friendship lies in similarity, trying to accommodate many friends forces one to constantly change like Proteus, resulting in the loss of one's own identity. Ultimately, the work concludes that one should strive for deep and stable relationships with only a select few.