Although everybody praises friendship, yet most men strive zealously after almost any other possession rather than a true friend; nevertheless, no other blessing is so well fitted as this to help and delight us in every situation of life.
διαλεγομένου: see on i.1.11.
ἐξ ὧν: its antec. is the omitted obj. of διαλεγομένου.
ἐδόκει τις: best rendered impers., it seemed that any one.
πολλῶν: gen. of source.
ὡς κράτιστον εἴη: in explanatory appos. with τοῦτο.
παντὸς μᾶλλον: for everything rather. Cf. πάντα μᾶλλον iv. 8. 4.
With this section, cf. “quid autem stultius, quam, cum plurimum copiis, facultatibus, opibus possint cetera parare, quae parantur pecunia, equos, famulos, vestem egregiam, vasa pretiosa; amicos non parare, optimam et pulcherrimam vitae, ut ita dicam, supellectilem?” Cic. de Am. xv. 55.
κτωμένους: striving to acquire.
φίλον δέ, ὅ: the rel. in the gender of the pred. as in the Lat. amicum, quod bonum esse dicunt. G. 1022; H. 631.
κτήσωνται, σῴζωνται: for the subjv. in obj. clauses, see G. 1374; H. 885 b.
αὐτοῖς: belongs to οἱ ὄντες (sc. φίλοι, to be supplied from φίλον) as well as to σῴζωνται.
ἀλλὰ καί: quin etiam.
καμνόντων φίλων τε καὶ οἰκετῶν: “in the case of sick friends and sick servants.”
τἆλλα τὰ πρὸς ὑγίειαν: “the other means of restoration to health.”
ἐλαττοῦσθαι: are the worse off.
οὐδὲν ἀθεράπευτον: the double neg. (‘litotes’) adds force.
καὶ πολλῶν ὄντων: concessive, as is also ὀλίγων ὄντων.
τὸ πλῆθος εἰδότας: cf. “querebatur (Scipio) quod omnibus in rebus homines diligentiores essent: capras et oves quot quisque haberet dicere posse, amicos quot haberet non posse dicere” Cic. de Am. xvii. 62.
οὓς ... ἔθεσαν: explanatory of τούτους.
πάλιν ἀνατίθεσθαι: πάλιν is often added to verbs compounded with ἀνά, as we say ‘to take back again.’ Cf. πάλιν ἀνερασθῆναι iii. 5. 7. For the meaning of the verb, see on i.2.44. The inf. is used here where we might expect the participle (after ὁρᾶν), because the influence of ἔφη is still felt.
τοσοῦτον: only so much, i.e. so little. Similarly, δύναμιν is equivalent to weakness in An. i.6.7
χρήσιμον, χρηστός: for the ‘parechesis,’ see on χρήματα ii. 3. 1.
ἑαυτὸν τάττει: devotes himself. Cf. ὡς γὰρ χρημάτων ἑώρα τὴν πόλιν δεομένην, ἐπὶ τὸ πορίζειν ταῦτα ἑαυτὸν ἔταξε Ages. ii. 25.
πρὸς πᾶν τὸ ἐλλεῖπον, καί: against loss of every kind, whether etc.
κατασκευῆς: gen. of want, with ἐλλεῖπον.
τῶν κοινῶν πράξεων: ‘brachylogy’ for τῆς τῶν κοινῶν πράξεων κατασκευῆς.
συναναλίσκων: this and the succeeding five participles well summarize the ways in which a friend in need shows himself a friend indeed.
πλεῖστα: frequently.
τὰ ὦτα προακούουσι: pl. with neut. subj., on account of the preceding and following pls., to preserve ‘concinnity.’
τούτων: refers back with emphasis to the omitted antec. of ἅ. See G. 1030; H. 996 b.
εὐεργετῶν οὐδενὸς λείπεται: is behindhand in none with his good offices. For the supplementary participle with λείπεται, see G. 1580; H. 981. Cf. ἐλλείπεσθαι ποιῶν ii. 6. 5.
πολλάκις ἅ: with conj. omitted, as often in an explanatory clause (‘explicative asyndeton’). Kr. Spr. 59. 1. 5.
πρὸ τοῦ φίλου: sc. ἐξεργαζόμενος, ἰδών, ἀκούσας, διανύσας.
