fare and brotherhood to noble action.
While each of these works was written centuries apart, they pursue a similar course in attempting to educate as well as entertain. All of them are designed to provide examples of the character qualities needed by individuals, friends, rulers or other human beings to reflect the essence of nobility. This analysis will discuss Thucydides' (441 BCE) History of the Peloponnesian War, Cicero's (44 BCE) Laelius on Friendship, and Sir Thomas More's Utopia in order to illustrate the perspective of each other with respect to the character qualities most reflective of nobility in individuals. A conclusion will address why it might be that philosophers and others continue to try and define concepts like nobility.
Thucydides' (441 BCE) History of the Peloponnesian War provides a chronological discussion of the War in ancient Greece between Athens and Sparta. In the work there are many speeches given by the main figures on either side of the conflict. From address to troops to political speeches, it is generally in these speeches that Thucydides provides a discussion of the qualities associated with nobility in human character and/or behavior. One of the most well-defined of these is the oration provided during by Pericles that brings up many concepts related to noble character and behavior. As part of the oratory for the heroic warrior, Thucydides (441 BCE) writes that freedom and tolerance are extremely important aspects of nobility in the individual. However, we also see that these noble qualities reflected by individuals will also be reflected by their societies. As Thucydides (441 BCE) writes, "The freedom which we / enjoy in our government extends also to / our ordinary life. There, / far from exercising a jealous surveillance / over each other, we do / not feel called upon to be angry with our / neighbor for doing what / he likes" (Thucydides, 441 BCE, Book II).
...