T might, at first thought, seem that calm philosophy would be less likely than any form of practical action to exhibit the influence of personal friendship; but when

we consider that philosophy is human thinking concerning the relations of things, we can see that the spirit of the individual thinker will naturally affect the manner of his thinking; and that, therefore, philosophers are liable to feel the sway, in all their reasonings, of the most potent of human sentiments. As a matter of fact it is found that philosophies, ancient and modern, have given large prominence to the element of friendship; and that the authors of those philosophies have been peculiarly open to its immediate influence.

Tradition assigns to the Greek Pythagoras, in the sixth century before our era, the claim of being the first to call himself a philosopher, or "lover of wisdom." We know but little of the personal history, or even of the specific teachings, of Pythagoras; but the numerous stories con

cerning his influence over his contemporaries go to show that he was a man who loved and was loved. And the one saying of his that has been preserved to us in classic records, is his reference to "a friend" as "the half of one's soul." Out of the choicest of his followers, Pythagoras is said to have formed a select brotherhood, or society of friends whom he drew close to himself in the privileges of confidence and affection; and within this sacred circle of sworn friends there were inner circles, one within another, until the innermost was reached by those nearest and dearest to himself.

In the brief writings ascribed to Pythagoras, under the name of "Golden Words," probably composed by one of his disciples as embodying the great master's more important teachings, there is an appeal to all to choose wisely in friendship; and this appeal immediately follows the injunction to duties that look God-ward, as if friendship were the highest duty in purely human relations. And a modern historian of classic times, summing up the influences of Pythagorean philosophy, says: "As regards the fruits of this system of training or belief, it is interesting to remark, that wherever we have notices of distinguished Pythagoreans, we usually hear of them as men of great uprightness, conscientiousness, and self-restraint, and as capable of devoted and enduring friendship.” Damon and Pythias were representative Pythagoreans, and their undying friendship seems to have been in the line. of the teachings of this first of the Greek philosophers.

Confucius was a contemporary of Pythagoras, in that wonderful sixth century before our era. While his philosophy was mainly limited to the principles that

should govern men in their development of personal character, and in their purely social relations, it had in it enough that was of permanent value to make its impress on, and to hold its power over, one-third of the human race for now twenty-four centuries; and friendship was a permanent element in the philosophy of Confucius. It is said that when Tze-kung once asked the sage "if there were any one word which would serve as a rule of practice for all one's life," Confucius replied "Yes," and then named the word, or composite character, shu, meaning literally "as heart." This he explained by showing that we were to look out upon others in that sympathy with them, and that regard for them, which our hearts would prompt us to have for ourselves. An unselfish affection, which is the very essence of friendship, Confucius made the active principle of his system of social ethics. The more ancient Chinese classics which were studied by Confucius, made the cultivation of friendship a means of spiritual attainment; and the most eminent followers of Confucius named friendship as the first of social relations. Throughout the writings of Confucius the influence on himself of his personal friendships is plainly disclosed; and he explicitly declared that his ideal in that direction was beyond his attainment.

After Pythagoras there came Socrates and Plato as new beginners in the realm of speculative philosophy, whose influence has been on all the ages since; and in the lives and teachings of both these philosophers friendship bore an important part. Socrates was dependent, from the beginning, on the help of a devoted friend in securing the possibility and means of the best intellectual training that

Athens could then afford. Socrates was the son of a sculptor, and he was trained to his father's art as a means of support. But Crito of Athens, a young friend of Socrates, had large wealth, and he supplied both books and teachers for his friend, so that he could become a student of philosophy; and then he studied with him and under him, while remaining true as his friend. This friendship of Crito for Socrates was unbroken to the last. When Socrates was condemned to death, Crito was one of his bondsmen, and he sought the privilege of securing his escape by the use of his large wealth. When Socrates refused to avail himself of this proffer, Crito remained with him in affectionate converse during the last hours of the philosopher's life; and finally he who had helped to open the eyes of Socrates to the light of truth, lovingly closed those eyes to the light of earth. The influence of this friendship of Crito is seen in all the thought of Socrates. Its value in his eyes is indicated when he declares to Lysis: "I have a passion for friends. . . . Yea, by the dog of Egypt, I should greatly prefer a real friend to all the gold of Darius, or even to Darius himself. I am such a lover of friends as that." And he discloses his understanding of the scope of his friend's friendship for him, when he says to Menexenus and Lysis, of their relative wealth: "Friends have all things in common; so that one of you can be no richer than the other, if you say truly that you are friends." And in all the searchings of the great philosopher after truth absolute, hardly any question has larger prominence than the nature and possibilities of friendship.

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Plato, like Socrates, was largely indebted to friendship,

and largely influenced by it. Among the stories that gained credence concerning Plato's life-course is one, deemed probable by Grote and Ueberweg and Erdmann, that tells of his visit to Syracuse with his friend Dion, and of the bearing of this journey on all his future. Offending the tyrant Dionysius by his plain speaking, Plato was sold as a slave by the tyrant's order; and his mission as a philosopher would have ended abruptly had it not been for the interference of his friend Anniceris, the Cyrenian, who gave of his wealth to ransom his friend. And, as the story goes, when, subsequently, other friends of Plato would have refunded to Anniceris his outlay on this account, Anniceris refused to accept the payment, and the money raised for his reimbursement was devoted to the purchase of grounds for the Academy at Athens. So it came to pass, according to this story, that this world-center of philosophic teaching was itself a monument and memorial of a personal friendship. Certain it is that unselfish friendship had such prominence in the mind of Plato, as a main factor in his philosophy, that it has been characterized, in all the ages since, as “Platonic love;" a love that is noblest and purest and most Godlike among human sentiments. To separate friendship from the teachings of Plato would be to destroy the integrity and life of Platonism.

But in addition to all that we know of the influence of personal friendship on Socrates and Plato individually, we find that the friendship of Plato and Socrates was the main cause of the power of each and both in the world's philosophy. What should we have known of Socrates as a philosopher, had not Plato been his friend? What