Abstract
Friendship is a major issue in the history of Western thought. It represented for some Greco-Roman philosophers one of the most valuable assets for the life of men, because friendship contributes to a good life or a happy life. However, it is always exposed to the parasitic attitude of sycophants. Taking this consideration into account, here the tracks of parasitism are followed and some reflections are made on their dangers within the friendship from a fragment of On the Nature of Animals of Claudius Aelianus, which treats on the parasitic attitude of Cleisophus before Philip in contrast with the friendly attitude of the sucking-fish and the dolphin. This with the purpose of pointing out that friendship should remain free of adulation according to the example that Nature offers through animals.
Published Version
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