Loyalty is such an underrated quality among friends. But I wonder if people really understand loyalty in the same way? What would loyalty between two good friends mean? To me one of the things it means, in very simple words though Aristotle says this with a lot more nuance, is that the enemy of my friend is my enemy. Obviously ‘enemy’ is a very strong word when we are not going to wars with anyone, but let's just say someone my friend cannot stomach. I for one cannot stand manipulators, game-players, and apple-polishers—these ‘qualities’ usually come in combination.

I would expect loyalty to dictate that I will not entertain that person either. One reason is that I care for my friend and want to show them where my sympathies lie. If they lie everywhere, that itself is a problem. A friend to all is a friend to none? But I think there is a logic beyond this too. Aristotle considered the best friendship between those who have virtue. Let's say high integrity. And this is the kind of friendship I am talking about. Where both have high integrity. If we assume that the two friends with high integrity also have high discernment, then if one of them cannot stand a certain character, it would have to mean they detect a lack of integrity or sincerity in that person. In such a case, the two friends who obviously trust each other very much, would certainly have to feel the same way about the person in question even if only one has reason to feel so. If we assume one of them has not had the chance to detect the two-facedness of the character in question or the character has cleverly managed to hide it from them (they are ace manipulators after all!), it should not matter. If the friend has seen it, that is enough. If the friend has been distressed by it, that is more than enough.