In Honour of Friendship Friedrich Nietzsche

That the sentiment of friendship was regarded by antiquity as the highest sentiment, higher even than the most vaunted pride of the self sufficient and wise, yes, as it were its sole and still holier brotherhood, is very well expressed by the story of the Macedonian king who made the present of a talent to a cynical Athenian philosopher from whom he received it back again. " What?" said the king, "has he then no friend?" He therewith meant to say, " I honour this pride of the wise and independent man, but I should have honoured his humanity still higher, if the friend in him had gained the victory over his pride. The philosopher has lowered himself in my estimation, for he showed that he did not know one of the two highest sentiments and in fact the higher of them!"