Part 18

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You must, therefore, love me myself, and not my circumstances, if we are to be real friends.

--Cicero.

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With conscious pride I view the band Of faithful friends that round me stand, With pride exult that I alone Can join these scattered gems in one; For they're a wreath of pearls, and I The silken cord on which they lie. 'Tis mine their inmost souls to see, Unlocked is every heart to me, To me they cling, on me they rest, And I've a place in every breast. For they're a wreath of pearls, and I The silken cord on which they lie.

--From the Arabic.

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What room can there be for friendship, or who can be a friend to any one whom he does not love for his own sake? And what is loving, from which verb (amo) the very name of friendship (amicitia) is derived, but wishing a certain person to enjoy the greatest possible good fortune, even if none of it accrues to one's self?

--Cicero.

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What makes us so changeable in our friendships is the difficulty we have in discerning the qualities of the heart, and the ease with which we discern those of the mind.

--La Rochefoucauld.

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Worldly friendship is profuse in honeyed words, passionate endearments, commendations of beauty, while true friendship speaks a simple honest language.

--De Sales.

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You cannot find a man who fully loves any living thing, that, dolt and dullard though he be, is not in some spot lovable himself. He gets something from his friends if he had nothing at all before.

--Brooks.

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We can live without a brother, but not without a friend.

--German Proverb.

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Whatever is founded on mere carnal love, vanity or frivolity, on such attractions as are purely external, a sweet voice, personal beauty, superficial cleverness or outward show, is unworthy to be called friendship.

--De Sales.

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You do surely bar the door upon your own liberty, if you deny your griefs to your friend.

--Shakespeare.

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