Pázmány and friendship

Abstract

This essay examines the nuances of the meaning of the word neighbour/friend/friendship in Pázmány's oeuvre, the circumstances of its occurrence, and the use of the term. On this basis, a neighbour may be an amicus et proximus or proximus nocens, towards whom neighbourly love binds us all regardless of the other's intentions or actions, because neighbourly love is always directed towards the person and not towards his or her actions. At the same time, there are friendships based on reciprocity and goodwill, in which actions also have a meaning, when the parties are responsible to each other. Pázmány's reflections on this benevolent friendship are collected in this essay on the basis of a review of the texts on the subject in Pázmány's works, these occur mainly in his devotional works, hardly at all in the treatises, where they occur only occasionally.