WHAT IS LOYALTY? What is its quintessence, its fundamental nature? What rank does loyalty have in the realm of values and virtues? How important is it to a life well lived? The question of loyalty is of considerable interest, because contemplating it can give us a much clearer view of our own era, the modern age, but also of the pre-modern age--and thus of the differences and similarities between the pre-moderns (some would say, the "ancients") and the moderns. The first question--What is loyalty?--is a question of fact, the second--What is the value of loyalty?--a normative question. I will start with the first question and conclude with the second, but since the two questions are closely entwined, there is no way of discussing either of them without at the same time addressing the other as well.
