Plato, Augustine, and Montaigne on the Nature of Friendship
This essay compares the philosophical, theological, and political conceptions of friendship offered by Plato, Augustine, and Montaigne. Augustine defines true friendship as a bond rooted in divine charity that draws souls toward God, illustrating the point through a personal narrative from the Confessions. Plato, writing in the pre-Christian era, grounds friendship in love as union with the transcendental Good, as articulated by Diotima in the Symposium. Montaigne approaches friendship from a practical and political standpoint, emphasizing tolerance, communication, and the stabilizing role of friendship in civic life. Despite their differing frameworks, the essay argues that all three thinkers converge on a shared understanding: genuine friendship is distinguished by deep affection, loyalty, and an orientation toward something greater than self-interest.
- Introduction: Three Perspectives on Friendship: Overview of Plato, Augustine, and Montaigne's definitions
- Augustine: Friendship Rooted in Divine Charity: Friendship as Holy Spirit-given charity toward God
- Plato: Friendship as Union with the Good: Love and friendship linked to the transcendental Good
- Montaigne: Friendship as Political and Practical Tolerance: Friendship as secular tolerance and civic stability
- The Ideal of Deep Friendship in Montaigne: Montaigne's highest friendship: loyalty and sacred obligation
- Conclusion: A Common Thread: All three thinkers share a vision of genuine friendship
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What makes this paper effective
- The paper moves logically from one thinker to the next while maintaining a consistent comparative thread—the nature of affection and its ultimate orientation—that ties all three analyses together.
- Augustine's argument is grounded in a concrete narrative from the Confessions, giving the theological claim emotional weight and textual specificity.
- The conclusion synthesizes rather than merely restates, identifying both what distinguishes each thinker and what unites them at the level of principle.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates effective comparative close reading: it selects a unifying criterion (the role of love or affection in defining genuine friendship), applies it consistently to each primary source, and uses direct quotation to anchor each interpretive claim. This technique allows the essay to respect the distinctiveness of each thinker while building toward a coherent overarching argument.
Structure breakdown
An introductory paragraph establishes the three thinkers and the paper's thesis. Three body sections treat Augustine, Plato, and Montaigne in turn, each anchored by at least one primary-source quotation. A transitional section distinguishes Montaigne's ideal friendship from his more pragmatic observations. A concluding paragraph synthesizes all three perspectives around the shared insight that true friendship transcends ordinary acquaintance and points toward something larger than the self.
Introduction: Three Perspectives on Friendship
Plato, Augustine, and Montaigne each define friendship differently, though they share many important similarities. Augustine defined friendship in terms of the ultimate aim of the Christian person: union with God. A friend, in his view, was one who assisted or supported the development of that holy union. Plato approached friendship in a more philosophical—and less theological—vein, yet still defined it as one of the bonds that help create a strong society built on the pursuit of the Ideals: the one, the good, and the true. Montaigne viewed friendship from a political perspective, noting how Aristotle pointed out that "good legislators had more respect to friendship than to justice" (Montaigne 1) in order to show that there is a great deal of good to be said for the charity often associated with friendship. This essay discusses the meaning of friendship as defined by all three thinkers, examining their different orientations and showing how, ultimately, they are largely like-minded.
The characteristic of friendship that links the three perspectives together is the quality of affection or charity that accompanies it. A friend is one who wants the other to do well, to be whole, and to succeed in life. A friend is supportive rather than hurtful and is a source of goodwill rather than ill will.
Works Cited
Augustine. Confessions. Translated by Maria Boulding. Hyde Park, NY: New City Press, 2003.
Montaigne, Michel de. "On Friendship." Digital File.
Plato. Symposium. Translated by Paul Woodruff and Alexander Nehamas. Indianapolis: Hackett, 1989.
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