Imperfect friendships for changeable men : Alberti’s De amicitia

According to the most of the scholars (Hayatte, Langer, Woodhouse), Alberti developed a pragmatic, cynical and utilitarian view friendship since he directed his attention on courts. A close examination of the discussion between Adovardo and Lionardo will show that his challenge to the classical model of perfect friendship relies on some features intrinsic to human condition, Friendship is inevitable unstable and changeable not only because it is based on self-interest rather than on virtue, but also because it copes with the obscurity of human mind and the varieties of human characters. Those last two features amplify the power of fortune over men. Moreover, they make the ability of dissimulating crucial for every man in unexpected situations. For this reason Alcibiades’s attitude in making friends is offered as a new model, in line not only with Alberti’s Momus, but also with Alberti’s Ulysses, the hero of the De profugia.