4524. About friendship and the love of friendship
I heard good spirits conversing among themselves about friendship and the love of friendship, saying that friendship can indeed exist, but never any love of friendship, because the love of friendship binds sometimes dissimilar spirits and minds together, causing them much trouble in the other life. Moreover, the love of friendship cares for nothing but life's pleasures, which they separate from the pleasures and blessings of the other life, and [the love] is such when the wealth and resulting pleasures cease with some friend, that it dissolves and becomes no love, but contempt for the friend, whatever love there had been before.
But if there is something good and right in a given friend, or rather a companion or associate, [it was said,] that is to be loved, whether he be an associate or not, on account of the good itself, which, of course, he should know to be good, and not allow himself to be blinded. Friendship pertains to civil life, but never the love of friendship.
4524. CONCERNING FRIENDSHIP AND THE LOVE OF FRIENDSHIP.
I heard good spirits conversing among themselves respecting friendship and the love of friendship, [and maintaining] that there could be friendship indeed, but never any love of friendship, inasmuch as the love of friendship ties minds [animos] together, notwithstanding the minds [mentes] are dissimilar, which causes much trouble in the other life. [It was said], moreover, that the love of friendship regards nothing but the delights of life, which draw away [the thoughts] from the delights and blessednesses of the other life, and is such that when riches and their consequent delights cease, it is then dissolved and becomes none, and is followed by contempt, whatever the love may have been previously; whereas if there was anything good and right in a particular friend, or rather an associate or companion, that that was to be loved, and to be loved the same whether the other party were a companion or not, thus for the sake of the good itself, though he should know its genuine quality and not suffer himself to be blinded by it. Friendship [it was said] is of civil life, but not the love of friendship.
4524. De amicitia et amicitiae amore
Audivi spiritus bonos inter se loquentes de amicitia et amicitiae amore, quod amicitia quidem esse possit, sed quod nusquam aliquis amicitiae amor, quia amicitiae amor ligat animos quandoque mentes dissimiles simul, quod iis molestiam multam facit in altera vita; praeter quod amicitiae amor nihil curet nisi jucunda vitae, quae abstrahunt a jucundis et beatis vitae alterius, et est talis cum cessant opes et sic jucunda apud aliquem, [ut] tunc dissolvitur, et fit nullus, et ejus contemtus, utcunque amor fuerit prius, sed si aliquid in amico quodam vel potius socio aut sodali bonum et rectum, quod hoc ametur, sive sodalis sit sive non, ita pro ipso bono, [sic] quod [quis] tamen sciat quod [bonum] sit, nec se occoecari permittat; amicitia est vitae civilis, sed nusquam amicitiae amor.