by Jason Stotts
It’s interesting, that while Aristotle had significant problems with Plato’s philosophy, he still respected him greatly. Not only was his respect great, but also his eloquence and the depth of his feelings for his teacher betray the beauty of his character. The following is part of Plato’s eulogy, which Aristotle wrote.
Coming to the fair land of Cecropia
he piously founded an altar of holy friendship
for a man whom the wicked may not properly even praise;
he, alone or the first of mortals, showed clearly
by his own life and by the courses of his arguments
that a man becomes good and happy at the same time:
but now none can grasp this any more.
One could scarcely ask for a higher honor than for The Philosopher himself to say that you are so noble that the wicked may not properly even praise you.
It makes me wonder, though, where eloquence has gone in modernity and where this depth of love and passion for one’s friends has disappeared to…where has Nobility gone?