the perfect Friendship, according to Aristotle:

“… is the friendship of men who are good, and alike in virtue; for these wish well alike to each other qua good, and they are good themselves. Now those who wish well to their friends for their sake are most truly friends; for they do this by reason of own nature and not incidentally; therefore their friendship lasts as long as they are good-and goodness is an enduring thing. And each is good without qualification and to his friend, for the good are both good without qualification and useful to each other. So too they are pleasant; for the good are pleasant both without qualification and to each other, since to each his own activities and others like them are pleasurable, and the actions of the good are the same or like. And such a friendship is as might be expected permanent, since there meet in it all the qualities that friends should have. For all friendship is for the sake of good or of pleasure-good or pleasure either in the abstract or such as will be enjoyed by him who has the friendly feeling-and is based on a certain resemblance; and to a friendship of good men all the qualities we have named belong in virtue of the nature of the friends themselves; for in the case of this kind of friendship the other qualities also are alike in both friends, and that which is good without qualification is also without qualification pleasant, and these are the most lovable qualities. Love and friendship therefore are found most and in their best form between such men.”

Based on these views of Aristotle, it is understood that Friendship is analyzed in a context of social interactions that stem from the common life of people where their virtuous friendship is characterized by equality, solidarity, freedom of speech, empathy and trust in each other.

Another feature of this friendship is selflessness, a result of honesty and the virtue of friends. This selflessness towards the friend is manifested by offering material or moral assistance when and where the friend needs it.

Aristotle characterizes Friendship as “ One soul dwelling in two bodies”, meaning that virtuous friendship can reach the perfect devotion of friends and self-denial. A tangible example of Damon and Pythias who went so far as to want to sacrifice themselves for each other.

Freemasonry having as its main goal the moral and spiritual improvement of its members, through the reconstruction of the inner Lodge of Virtue, fully identifies the content of the Masonic friendship with that of Aristotle.

The Masonic Works within the Lodge aim to acquire the Virtues and through them to create virtuous people. The cultivation of virtuous relationships, built on good intentions, and the effort to mutually appreciate the character of each in the context of the Masonic Fraternity, requires a continuous processing of each one’s personal raw stone/ashlar and a relationship of Respect and mutual assistance.

This effort helps the spiritual development and morality of the Fraternity by creating, according to Aristotle, good people who can develop the Friendship of Virtue and Good (i.e. Perfect Friendship). A strong and lasting virtuous Masonic Friendship, which differs from the one of the vicious friendships, as Isocrates points out: ” Some men honor only present friends while others cherish even those far away. A short time disentangles the connections of those former men while an entire life time couldn’t wear away the friendship of the others “.

In Freemasonry, we are all equal, Respect those who are obliged to perform masonic duties, we have left the metals outside the Lodge and we all actively participate in the masonic labor, highlighting our common effort to refine our raw stone/ashlar, develop our morality, cultivate masonic virtues, helping each other during the common masonic path towards the Light.

Acting all as equals, according to Aristotle we develop the Aristotelian Perfect Friendship.

The existence of this Friendship creates deep mutual understanding, unity and virtuous cooperation among the Masons, further strengthening the Masonic work.

That is, there is a two-way relationship between the Masonic Friendship and the spiritual unfoldment of the Masons, one reinforcing the other.

That is, the Masonic Friendship is the perfect Friendship according to Aristotle, the Friendship of Virtue and Good.

The uninitiated, upon entering the Lodge, understands the magnitude of the Masonic Friendship. During the initiation, both during the three tours and through the words of the Worshipful Master, the initiated becomes a recipient of Friendship behaviors.

During the tests, the initiated feels the support and protection of the Deacon.

The initiated hears Worshipful Master say: “….. the bearers are friends ready to rush to your aid in time of danger and to use the weapons, so as to defend your life and honor.”

Of course, these parts are just samples of a strong relationship that exists between the members of the fraternity in which the initiated has asked to enter. Upon the completion of the initiation, initiated will realize the effort that must be made feel this virtuous strong Masonic Friendship.

A Friendship whose power and positive energy is diffused through the Chain of Union to all Sisters/Brothers.

The connecting force of the Masonic fraternity is this virtuous Masonic friendship.

With the continuous and active participation in Masonic labor, the Masons can reach levels of highest Virtue then, as Theophrastus, a student of Aristotle, argues, they can develop the perfect Friendship with non-equal persons, that is, people of lower morality and spirituality.

It is the moment when Worshipful Master urges:

“May the Light that illuminated our labor always shine in us, so that we may continue to carry out our Work outside this Lodge…”.

It is the moment when the Mason is ready to develop the perfect Friendship also towards the uninitiated world.

The moment when the masonic influence will essentially contribute to the development of humanitarian values and the society of our ignorant fellow human beings.