Clementia

When Julius Cesar seized power in Rome, defeating Pompey and his supporters, he faced a dilemma: persecute all the people that opposed him previously or forgive them. He chooses the latter, and this attitude of mercy is then transposed to the goodness Clementia, usually depicted holding an olive tree branch. The strategy effectively eased the restlessness between the winning and losing parties. Still, considering his assassination, it was not completely successful.

Translating the historical event into modern-day situations, I am sure we all have acquaintances who don’t respond to messages, arrive chronically late, or make some personal zingers. How to decide the people with whom it is worth being friends and accepting their flaws as part of their character from those who are better to stay away from?

In my experience, being at ease and in good relations with most people leads to great peace of mind. At the same time, it is important to avoid the error of Cesar to treat all relationships the same. What could be a cutting line is separating good faith from bad faith. Those in the first one are in, and those in the latter are out.

It is hard to determine the position of every situation rationally, but gut feelings provide a good approximation. Combining them with the saying errare humanum est, perseverare autem diabolicum provides a valid heuristic.