摘要：The article presents one of the most important philosophical- theological works on friendship “De spirituali amicitia”, which was written by a medieval Cistercian Aelred of Rievaulx. The first part of the article briefly speaks about Aelred’s life and his work “Speculum caritatis”, which is important for a better understanding of the work ”De spirituali amicitia”. The second, central part of the article analyses Aelred’s thoughts on friendship, and all that in three fragments that follow the composition of the work itself. The first one considers the nature, the second the purpose, and the third certain difficulties and important pieces of advice for the realization of true friendship. In the end, in conclusion, two basic aims of this article are summarized: to actualise the importance of friendship where it has been totally neglected and to point to true friendship where it has been reduced to a friendship only out of self-interest.
关键词：Aelred of Rievaulx; friendship; friend; love; affection; reason;
