Maiorem hac dilectionem nemo habet, ut animam suam ponat qui pro amicis suis. (St.John, xv, 13: Greater love than this no man hath, that a man lay down his life for his friends.)
[F]riendship is not to be sought for its wages, but because its revenue consists entirely in the love which it implies. Those, however, who, after the manner of beasts, refer everything to pleasure, think very differently. Nor is it remarkable that they do, for men who have degraded all their thoughts to so mean and contemptible an end can rise to the contemplation of nothing lofty, nothing magnificent and divine. We may, therefore, leave them out of this discussion. ... For if it were utility that cemented friendships, an altered aspect of utility would dissolve them. But because nature cannot be changed, therefore true friendships are eternal.
Cicero
De Amicitia
[transl. A.P.Peabody]
