It is a sad thing that there comes a moment when misery unknots friendships. There were two friends; there are two passersby!
—Hugo.
Too late we learn—a man must hold his friendUnjudged, accepted, faultless to the end.—O’Reilly.
Too late we learn—a man must hold his friendUnjudged, accepted, faultless to the end.—O’Reilly.
Too late we learn—a man must hold his friendUnjudged, accepted, faultless to the end.
Too late we learn—a man must hold his friend
Unjudged, accepted, faultless to the end.
—O’Reilly.
—O’Reilly.
For, believe me, in this world, which is ever slipping from under our feet, it is the prerogative of friendship to grow old with one’s friend.
—Hardy.
A common friendship—Who talks of a common friendship? There is no such thing in the world. On earth no word is more sublime.
—Drummond.
Friendship survives death better than absence.
—Senn.
When friendship goes with love it must play second fiddle.
The earth to the songs of the poetResounds in a deathless tune,Though hearts be upon or below it—Though the Winter be here or the June.Of the numberless songs that are ringing,Let the cadence of one song flowFor the Aprils fled and the living and dead—The friends of the Long Ago.—Hale.
The earth to the songs of the poetResounds in a deathless tune,Though hearts be upon or below it—Though the Winter be here or the June.Of the numberless songs that are ringing,Let the cadence of one song flowFor the Aprils fled and the living and dead—The friends of the Long Ago.—Hale.
The earth to the songs of the poetResounds in a deathless tune,Though hearts be upon or below it—Though the Winter be here or the June.Of the numberless songs that are ringing,Let the cadence of one song flowFor the Aprils fled and the living and dead—The friends of the Long Ago.
The earth to the songs of the poet
Resounds in a deathless tune,
Though hearts be upon or below it—
Though the Winter be here or the June.
Of the numberless songs that are ringing,
Let the cadence of one song flow
For the Aprils fled and the living and dead—
The friends of the Long Ago.
—Hale.
—Hale.
Devotion to a friend does not consist in doing everything for him, but simply that which is agreeable, and of service to him, and let it only be revealed by accident.
—Unknown.
Never to have encountered a constancy equal to one’s own is tragic.
The ring of coin is often the knell of friendship.
—Unknown.
The sweet sincerity of joy and peace which I draw from this alliance with my brother’s soul, is the nut itself, whereof all nature and all thought is but the husk and shell. Happy is the house that shelters a friend! It might well be built, like a festal bower or arch, to entertain him a single day. Happier, if he know the solemnity of that relation, and honor its law.
—Emerson.
Eternal blessings crown my earliest friend,And round his dwelling guardian saints attend;Blest be that spot where cheerful guests retireTo pause from toil, and trim their evening fire;Blest that abode where want and pain repair,And every stranger finds a ready chair;Blest be those feasts with simple plenty crowned,With all the ruddy family around.—Goldsmith.
Eternal blessings crown my earliest friend,And round his dwelling guardian saints attend;Blest be that spot where cheerful guests retireTo pause from toil, and trim their evening fire;Blest that abode where want and pain repair,And every stranger finds a ready chair;Blest be those feasts with simple plenty crowned,With all the ruddy family around.—Goldsmith.
Eternal blessings crown my earliest friend,And round his dwelling guardian saints attend;Blest be that spot where cheerful guests retireTo pause from toil, and trim their evening fire;Blest that abode where want and pain repair,And every stranger finds a ready chair;Blest be those feasts with simple plenty crowned,With all the ruddy family around.
Eternal blessings crown my earliest friend,
And round his dwelling guardian saints attend;
Blest be that spot where cheerful guests retire
To pause from toil, and trim their evening fire;
Blest that abode where want and pain repair,
And every stranger finds a ready chair;
Blest be those feasts with simple plenty crowned,
With all the ruddy family around.
—Goldsmith.
—Goldsmith.
What matters if the years depart ifFriendship stays unchanged.—Bingham.
What matters if the years depart ifFriendship stays unchanged.—Bingham.
What matters if the years depart ifFriendship stays unchanged.
What matters if the years depart if
Friendship stays unchanged.
—Bingham.
—Bingham.
And when two souls are changed and mixed so,It is what they and none but they can do.This, this is friendship, that abstracted flameWhich grovelling mortals know not how to name.—Philips.
And when two souls are changed and mixed so,It is what they and none but they can do.This, this is friendship, that abstracted flameWhich grovelling mortals know not how to name.—Philips.
And when two souls are changed and mixed so,It is what they and none but they can do.This, this is friendship, that abstracted flameWhich grovelling mortals know not how to name.
And when two souls are changed and mixed so,
It is what they and none but they can do.
This, this is friendship, that abstracted flame
Which grovelling mortals know not how to name.
—Philips.
—Philips.
By friendship I mean the greatest love and the greatest usefulness, and the most open communication, and the most noble sufferings, and the most exemplary faithfulness, and the severest truth, and the heartiest counsel, and the greatest union of mind, of which brave men and women are capable.
—Taylor.
Loved wilt thou be? then love must first by thee be given;No purchase money else avails beneath the heaven.—Trench.
Loved wilt thou be? then love must first by thee be given;No purchase money else avails beneath the heaven.—Trench.
Loved wilt thou be? then love must first by thee be given;No purchase money else avails beneath the heaven.
Loved wilt thou be? then love must first by thee be given;
No purchase money else avails beneath the heaven.
—Trench.
—Trench.
Friendship is not like love; it cannot say,“Now is fruition give me and nowThe crown of me is set on mine own brow,This is the minute, the hour, and the day.”It cannot find a moment which it mayCall that for which it lived; there is no vow,Nor pledge thereof, nor first-fruits of its bough,Nor harvest, and no myrtle crown nor bay.
Friendship is not like love; it cannot say,“Now is fruition give me and nowThe crown of me is set on mine own brow,This is the minute, the hour, and the day.”It cannot find a moment which it mayCall that for which it lived; there is no vow,Nor pledge thereof, nor first-fruits of its bough,Nor harvest, and no myrtle crown nor bay.
Friendship is not like love; it cannot say,“Now is fruition give me and nowThe crown of me is set on mine own brow,This is the minute, the hour, and the day.”It cannot find a moment which it mayCall that for which it lived; there is no vow,Nor pledge thereof, nor first-fruits of its bough,Nor harvest, and no myrtle crown nor bay.
Friendship is not like love; it cannot say,
“Now is fruition give me and now
The crown of me is set on mine own brow,
This is the minute, the hour, and the day.”
It cannot find a moment which it may
Call that for which it lived; there is no vow,
Nor pledge thereof, nor first-fruits of its bough,
Nor harvest, and no myrtle crown nor bay.
I wonder if there is anything in this world as beautiful as good strong friendship between two men? They don’t go round doing the molly coddle act; they don’t kiss each other every time they meet; in fact, they never do kiss each other, unless one is lying cold in death; but they are sure one knows the other is always going to stand by him, and they feel that, no matter what happiness, each can rely on the other.
—Unknown.
Others will kiss you while your mouth is red;Beauty is brief. Of all the guests who comeWhen the lamps shine on flowers, and wine, and bread,In time of famine who will spare a crumb?Therefore, oh, next to God I pray you, keepYourself as your own friend, the tried, the true,Sit your own watch—others will surely sleep,Weep your own tears, ask none to die with you.—Piatt.
Others will kiss you while your mouth is red;Beauty is brief. Of all the guests who comeWhen the lamps shine on flowers, and wine, and bread,In time of famine who will spare a crumb?Therefore, oh, next to God I pray you, keepYourself as your own friend, the tried, the true,Sit your own watch—others will surely sleep,Weep your own tears, ask none to die with you.—Piatt.
Others will kiss you while your mouth is red;Beauty is brief. Of all the guests who comeWhen the lamps shine on flowers, and wine, and bread,In time of famine who will spare a crumb?Therefore, oh, next to God I pray you, keepYourself as your own friend, the tried, the true,Sit your own watch—others will surely sleep,Weep your own tears, ask none to die with you.
Others will kiss you while your mouth is red;
Beauty is brief. Of all the guests who come
When the lamps shine on flowers, and wine, and bread,
In time of famine who will spare a crumb?
Therefore, oh, next to God I pray you, keep
Yourself as your own friend, the tried, the true,
Sit your own watch—others will surely sleep,
Weep your own tears, ask none to die with you.
—Piatt.
—Piatt.
The end of friendship is a commerce the most strict and homely that can be joined; more strict than any of which we have experience. It is for aid and comfort through all the relations and passages of life and death. It is fit for serene days, and graceful gifts, and country rambles, but also for rough roads and hard fare, ship-wreck, poverty, and persecution. It keeps company with the sallies of wit and the trances of religion. We are to dignify to each other the daily needs and offices of man’s life, and embellish it by courage, wisdom and unity. It should never fall into something usual and settled, but should be alert and inventive and add rhyme and reason to what was drudgery.
—Emerson.
Give love, and love to your heart will flow,A strength in your inmost need;Have faith, and a score of hearts will showTheir faith in your word and deed.
Give love, and love to your heart will flow,A strength in your inmost need;Have faith, and a score of hearts will showTheir faith in your word and deed.
Give love, and love to your heart will flow,A strength in your inmost need;Have faith, and a score of hearts will showTheir faith in your word and deed.
Give love, and love to your heart will flow,
A strength in your inmost need;
Have faith, and a score of hearts will show
Their faith in your word and deed.
It is the men and women who believe most, and love best, that win most love.
—Kendall.
If you visit love, kindness, tenderness upon others, what ye mete is measured to you.
—Clarkson.
A friend that you have to buy won’t be worth what you pay for him, no matter what that may be.
—Prentice.
The only true and firm friendship is that between man and woman, because it is the only affection exempt from actual or possible rivalry.
—A. Comte.
To practice a deception is almost to commit a crime. The flow of kindness thus driven back is withdrawn from others whom it might have benefited.
—Carmen Sylva.
Love, and you shall be loved. All love is mathematically just, as much as the two sides of an algebraic equation.
—Emerson.
Absent or present, still to thee,My friend, what magic spells belong!As all can tell, who share like me,In turn thy converse and thy song.—Byron.
Absent or present, still to thee,My friend, what magic spells belong!As all can tell, who share like me,In turn thy converse and thy song.—Byron.
Absent or present, still to thee,My friend, what magic spells belong!As all can tell, who share like me,In turn thy converse and thy song.
Absent or present, still to thee,
My friend, what magic spells belong!
As all can tell, who share like me,
In turn thy converse and thy song.
—Byron.
—Byron.
True happinessConsists not in the multitude of friends,But in their worth and choice.—Jonson.
True happinessConsists not in the multitude of friends,But in their worth and choice.—Jonson.
True happinessConsists not in the multitude of friends,But in their worth and choice.
True happiness
Consists not in the multitude of friends,
But in their worth and choice.
—Jonson.
—Jonson.
Old friends are best. King James used to call for his old shoes: they were easiest for his feet.
—Seldon.
Friendship’s an abstract of Love’s noble flame,’Tis love refined, and purged from all its dross,’Tis next to angel’s love, if not the same,As strong as passion is, though not so gross.It antedates a glad eternityAnd is a heaven in epitome.—Philips.
Friendship’s an abstract of Love’s noble flame,’Tis love refined, and purged from all its dross,’Tis next to angel’s love, if not the same,As strong as passion is, though not so gross.It antedates a glad eternityAnd is a heaven in epitome.—Philips.
Friendship’s an abstract of Love’s noble flame,’Tis love refined, and purged from all its dross,’Tis next to angel’s love, if not the same,As strong as passion is, though not so gross.It antedates a glad eternityAnd is a heaven in epitome.
Friendship’s an abstract of Love’s noble flame,
’Tis love refined, and purged from all its dross,
’Tis next to angel’s love, if not the same,
As strong as passion is, though not so gross.
It antedates a glad eternity
And is a heaven in epitome.
—Philips.
—Philips.
Distill’d amidst the gloom of night,Dark hangs the dew-drop on the thorn;Till, notic’d by approaching light,It glitters in the smile of morn.Morn soon retires, her feeble pow’rThe sun out-beams with genial day,And gently, in benignant hour,Exhales the liquid pearl away.Thus on affliction’s sable bedDeep sorrows rise of saddest hue;Condensing round the mourner’s headThey bathe the cheek with chilly dew.Though pity shows her dawn from heaven,When kind she points assistance near,To friendship’s sun alone ’tis givenTo soothe and dry the mourner’s tear.—Penrose.
Distill’d amidst the gloom of night,Dark hangs the dew-drop on the thorn;Till, notic’d by approaching light,It glitters in the smile of morn.Morn soon retires, her feeble pow’rThe sun out-beams with genial day,And gently, in benignant hour,Exhales the liquid pearl away.Thus on affliction’s sable bedDeep sorrows rise of saddest hue;Condensing round the mourner’s headThey bathe the cheek with chilly dew.Though pity shows her dawn from heaven,When kind she points assistance near,To friendship’s sun alone ’tis givenTo soothe and dry the mourner’s tear.—Penrose.
Distill’d amidst the gloom of night,Dark hangs the dew-drop on the thorn;Till, notic’d by approaching light,It glitters in the smile of morn.
Distill’d amidst the gloom of night,
Dark hangs the dew-drop on the thorn;
Till, notic’d by approaching light,
It glitters in the smile of morn.
Morn soon retires, her feeble pow’rThe sun out-beams with genial day,And gently, in benignant hour,Exhales the liquid pearl away.
Morn soon retires, her feeble pow’r
The sun out-beams with genial day,
And gently, in benignant hour,
Exhales the liquid pearl away.
Thus on affliction’s sable bedDeep sorrows rise of saddest hue;Condensing round the mourner’s headThey bathe the cheek with chilly dew.
Thus on affliction’s sable bed
Deep sorrows rise of saddest hue;
Condensing round the mourner’s head
They bathe the cheek with chilly dew.
Though pity shows her dawn from heaven,When kind she points assistance near,To friendship’s sun alone ’tis givenTo soothe and dry the mourner’s tear.
Though pity shows her dawn from heaven,
When kind she points assistance near,
To friendship’s sun alone ’tis given
To soothe and dry the mourner’s tear.
—Penrose.
—Penrose.
Association with others is useful also in strengthening the character, and in enabling us, while we never lose sight of our main object, to thread our way wisely and well.
—S. Smiles.
What is a friend? one who in Fortune’s raysWould bask with us as on a sun-kissed strand,Beside a tranquil sea, whose restful sandGlistens as gold to woo the passer’s gaze,But who, should Sorrow’s clouds bedim our daysAnd angry winds, at adverse fate’s command,Drive our life’s barque against a barren land,A sudden zeal for other skies displays?Or he who, like a valiant knight of yore,When Summer yields to Winter’s icy breathOr Mirth’s gay laughter to the tears of Woe,Champions our cause, ne’er fearful of the foe,True to the legend which his pennon bore,SEMPER FIDELIS till the call of Death?—Norman.
What is a friend? one who in Fortune’s raysWould bask with us as on a sun-kissed strand,Beside a tranquil sea, whose restful sandGlistens as gold to woo the passer’s gaze,But who, should Sorrow’s clouds bedim our daysAnd angry winds, at adverse fate’s command,Drive our life’s barque against a barren land,A sudden zeal for other skies displays?Or he who, like a valiant knight of yore,When Summer yields to Winter’s icy breathOr Mirth’s gay laughter to the tears of Woe,Champions our cause, ne’er fearful of the foe,True to the legend which his pennon bore,SEMPER FIDELIS till the call of Death?—Norman.
What is a friend? one who in Fortune’s raysWould bask with us as on a sun-kissed strand,Beside a tranquil sea, whose restful sandGlistens as gold to woo the passer’s gaze,But who, should Sorrow’s clouds bedim our daysAnd angry winds, at adverse fate’s command,Drive our life’s barque against a barren land,A sudden zeal for other skies displays?Or he who, like a valiant knight of yore,When Summer yields to Winter’s icy breathOr Mirth’s gay laughter to the tears of Woe,Champions our cause, ne’er fearful of the foe,True to the legend which his pennon bore,SEMPER FIDELIS till the call of Death?
What is a friend? one who in Fortune’s rays
Would bask with us as on a sun-kissed strand,
Beside a tranquil sea, whose restful sand
Glistens as gold to woo the passer’s gaze,
But who, should Sorrow’s clouds bedim our days
And angry winds, at adverse fate’s command,
Drive our life’s barque against a barren land,
A sudden zeal for other skies displays?
Or he who, like a valiant knight of yore,
When Summer yields to Winter’s icy breath
Or Mirth’s gay laughter to the tears of Woe,
Champions our cause, ne’er fearful of the foe,
True to the legend which his pennon bore,
SEMPER FIDELIS till the call of Death?
—Norman.
—Norman.
The essence of friendship is entireness, a total magnanimity and trust.
A look—and lo our natures meet!A word—our minds make one reply!A touch—our hearts have but one beat!And if we walk together—whyThe same thought guides our feet.Heed well our friends while yet we may!There are so many winds about,And any wind may blow awayLove’s airy child. O! never doubtHe is the common prey.O! every chance while love remainsAnd every chance while he survives,Is something added to love’s gains;Comfort our friend while yet he lives!Dead what shall pay our pains?—Meredith.
A look—and lo our natures meet!A word—our minds make one reply!A touch—our hearts have but one beat!And if we walk together—whyThe same thought guides our feet.Heed well our friends while yet we may!There are so many winds about,And any wind may blow awayLove’s airy child. O! never doubtHe is the common prey.O! every chance while love remainsAnd every chance while he survives,Is something added to love’s gains;Comfort our friend while yet he lives!Dead what shall pay our pains?—Meredith.
A look—and lo our natures meet!A word—our minds make one reply!A touch—our hearts have but one beat!And if we walk together—whyThe same thought guides our feet.
A look—and lo our natures meet!
A word—our minds make one reply!
A touch—our hearts have but one beat!
And if we walk together—why
The same thought guides our feet.
Heed well our friends while yet we may!There are so many winds about,And any wind may blow awayLove’s airy child. O! never doubtHe is the common prey.
Heed well our friends while yet we may!
There are so many winds about,
And any wind may blow away
Love’s airy child. O! never doubt
He is the common prey.
O! every chance while love remainsAnd every chance while he survives,Is something added to love’s gains;Comfort our friend while yet he lives!Dead what shall pay our pains?
O! every chance while love remains
And every chance while he survives,
Is something added to love’s gains;
Comfort our friend while yet he lives!
Dead what shall pay our pains?
—Meredith.
—Meredith.
Oh say, and again repeat, fair, fair—and still I will say it—How fair, my friend, and good to see thou art,On pine or oak or wall thy name I do not blazon—Love has too deeply graved it in my heart.—Greek Epigram.
Oh say, and again repeat, fair, fair—and still I will say it—How fair, my friend, and good to see thou art,On pine or oak or wall thy name I do not blazon—Love has too deeply graved it in my heart.—Greek Epigram.
Oh say, and again repeat, fair, fair—and still I will say it—How fair, my friend, and good to see thou art,On pine or oak or wall thy name I do not blazon—Love has too deeply graved it in my heart.
Oh say, and again repeat, fair, fair—and still I will say it—
How fair, my friend, and good to see thou art,
On pine or oak or wall thy name I do not blazon—
Love has too deeply graved it in my heart.
—Greek Epigram.
—Greek Epigram.
I breathed a song into the air,It fell to earth, I knew not where;For who has sight so keen and strong,That it can follow the flight of a song;...The song from beginning to end,I found again in the heart of a friend.—Longfellow.
I breathed a song into the air,It fell to earth, I knew not where;For who has sight so keen and strong,That it can follow the flight of a song;...The song from beginning to end,I found again in the heart of a friend.—Longfellow.
I breathed a song into the air,It fell to earth, I knew not where;For who has sight so keen and strong,That it can follow the flight of a song;...The song from beginning to end,I found again in the heart of a friend.
I breathed a song into the air,
It fell to earth, I knew not where;
For who has sight so keen and strong,
That it can follow the flight of a song;
...
The song from beginning to end,
I found again in the heart of a friend.
—Longfellow.
—Longfellow.
Old friends to talk:—Ay, bring those chosen few,The wise, the courtly, and the trueSo rarely found.—Messinger.
Old friends to talk:—Ay, bring those chosen few,The wise, the courtly, and the trueSo rarely found.—Messinger.
Old friends to talk:—Ay, bring those chosen few,The wise, the courtly, and the trueSo rarely found.
Old friends to talk:—
Ay, bring those chosen few,
The wise, the courtly, and the true
So rarely found.
—Messinger.
—Messinger.
It is by loving, and not by being loved, that one can come nearest to the soul of another. Where two love, it is the loving of each other, and not the being loved by each other, that originates, perfects, and assures their blessedness.
—MacDonald.
It is useless to demand affection: the thing for us to do is to bestow affection, to serve, to be a friend to others, and, lo! by and by friends come to us.
—Merriam.
O friendship, equal-poised control,O heart, with kindest motion warm,O sacred essence, other form,O solemn ghost, O crowned soul.—Tennyson.
O friendship, equal-poised control,O heart, with kindest motion warm,O sacred essence, other form,O solemn ghost, O crowned soul.—Tennyson.
O friendship, equal-poised control,O heart, with kindest motion warm,O sacred essence, other form,O solemn ghost, O crowned soul.
O friendship, equal-poised control,
O heart, with kindest motion warm,
O sacred essence, other form,
O solemn ghost, O crowned soul.
—Tennyson.
—Tennyson.
Happy that man who has a friend to point out to him the perfection of duty, and yet to pardon him in the lapses of his infirmity.
—South.
This must my comfort be,That sun that warms you here shall shine on me.—Shakespeare.
This must my comfort be,That sun that warms you here shall shine on me.—Shakespeare.
This must my comfort be,That sun that warms you here shall shine on me.
This must my comfort be,
That sun that warms you here shall shine on me.
—Shakespeare.
—Shakespeare.
God’s benison go with you; and with thoseThat would make good of bad, and friends of foes.—Shakespeare.
God’s benison go with you; and with thoseThat would make good of bad, and friends of foes.—Shakespeare.
God’s benison go with you; and with thoseThat would make good of bad, and friends of foes.
God’s benison go with you; and with those
That would make good of bad, and friends of foes.
—Shakespeare.
—Shakespeare.
A faithful friend is better than gold—a medicine for misery, an only possession.
—Burton.
Come to me; what I seek in vainBring thou; into my spirit sendPeace after care, balm after pain,And be my friend.—F. Tennyson.
Come to me; what I seek in vainBring thou; into my spirit sendPeace after care, balm after pain,And be my friend.—F. Tennyson.
Come to me; what I seek in vainBring thou; into my spirit sendPeace after care, balm after pain,And be my friend.
Come to me; what I seek in vain
Bring thou; into my spirit send
Peace after care, balm after pain,
And be my friend.
—F. Tennyson.
—F. Tennyson.
As gold is tried by the furnace, and the baser metal shown, so the hollow-hearted friend is known by adversity.
—Metastasio.
A friendship as had mastered time:Which masters time indeed, and isEternal, separate from fears:The all-assuming months and years,Can take no part away from this.—Tennyson.
A friendship as had mastered time:Which masters time indeed, and isEternal, separate from fears:The all-assuming months and years,Can take no part away from this.—Tennyson.
A friendship as had mastered time:Which masters time indeed, and isEternal, separate from fears:The all-assuming months and years,Can take no part away from this.
A friendship as had mastered time:
Which masters time indeed, and is
Eternal, separate from fears:
The all-assuming months and years,
Can take no part away from this.
—Tennyson.
—Tennyson.
Beauty, Good, and Knowledge are three sistersThat dote upon each other, friends to man,Living together under the same roof,And never can be sunder’d without tears.And he that shuts Love out, in turn shall beShut out from Love, and on her threshold lieHowling in outer darkness.—Tennyson.
Beauty, Good, and Knowledge are three sistersThat dote upon each other, friends to man,Living together under the same roof,And never can be sunder’d without tears.And he that shuts Love out, in turn shall beShut out from Love, and on her threshold lieHowling in outer darkness.—Tennyson.
Beauty, Good, and Knowledge are three sistersThat dote upon each other, friends to man,Living together under the same roof,And never can be sunder’d without tears.And he that shuts Love out, in turn shall beShut out from Love, and on her threshold lieHowling in outer darkness.
Beauty, Good, and Knowledge are three sisters
That dote upon each other, friends to man,
Living together under the same roof,
And never can be sunder’d without tears.
And he that shuts Love out, in turn shall be
Shut out from Love, and on her threshold lie
Howling in outer darkness.
—Tennyson.
—Tennyson.
Each year to ancient friendships adds a ring,As to an oak, and precious more and more,Without deservingness, or help of oursThey grow, and silent, wider spread each yearTheir unbought ring of shelter or of shade.—Lowell.
Each year to ancient friendships adds a ring,As to an oak, and precious more and more,Without deservingness, or help of oursThey grow, and silent, wider spread each yearTheir unbought ring of shelter or of shade.—Lowell.
Each year to ancient friendships adds a ring,As to an oak, and precious more and more,Without deservingness, or help of oursThey grow, and silent, wider spread each yearTheir unbought ring of shelter or of shade.
Each year to ancient friendships adds a ring,
As to an oak, and precious more and more,
Without deservingness, or help of ours
They grow, and silent, wider spread each year
Their unbought ring of shelter or of shade.
—Lowell.
—Lowell.
The song-bird seeks its nest,The sun sinks in the West—And kindly thoughts are speeding out to you.May joy with you abide,May Hope be aye your guide,And Love protect you, all life’s journey through.—Burnside.
The song-bird seeks its nest,The sun sinks in the West—And kindly thoughts are speeding out to you.May joy with you abide,May Hope be aye your guide,And Love protect you, all life’s journey through.—Burnside.
The song-bird seeks its nest,The sun sinks in the West—And kindly thoughts are speeding out to you.May joy with you abide,May Hope be aye your guide,And Love protect you, all life’s journey through.
The song-bird seeks its nest,
The sun sinks in the West—
And kindly thoughts are speeding out to you.
May joy with you abide,
May Hope be aye your guide,
And Love protect you, all life’s journey through.
—Burnside.
—Burnside.
Friendship, a dear balm—Whose coming is as light and music areMid dissonance and gloom:—a starWhich moves not mid the moving heavens alone;A smile among dark frowns; a beloved light;A solitude, a refuge, a delight.—Shelley.
Friendship, a dear balm—Whose coming is as light and music areMid dissonance and gloom:—a starWhich moves not mid the moving heavens alone;A smile among dark frowns; a beloved light;A solitude, a refuge, a delight.—Shelley.
Friendship, a dear balm—Whose coming is as light and music areMid dissonance and gloom:—a starWhich moves not mid the moving heavens alone;A smile among dark frowns; a beloved light;A solitude, a refuge, a delight.
Friendship, a dear balm—
Whose coming is as light and music are
Mid dissonance and gloom:—a star
Which moves not mid the moving heavens alone;
A smile among dark frowns; a beloved light;
A solitude, a refuge, a delight.
—Shelley.
—Shelley.
Nothing delights the mind so much as true and sweet friendship. What a blessing it is when there are hearts prepared for you in which every secret rests securely, whose knowledge you fear less than your own, whose conversation calms your anxieties, whose opinion aids your plan, whose mirth dispels your sorrow, and whose very sight delights you.
—Seneca.
All faithful friends, and many friendships, in the days of time begun, are lasting here and growing still.
—Pollok.
The man who prefers his dearest friend to the call of duty will soon show that he prefers himself to his dearest friend.
—Robertson.
Friendship is the holiest of gifts;God can bestow nothing more sacred upon us!It enhances every joy, mitigates every pain.Everyone can have a friend,Who himself knows how to be a friend.—Tiedge.
Friendship is the holiest of gifts;God can bestow nothing more sacred upon us!It enhances every joy, mitigates every pain.Everyone can have a friend,Who himself knows how to be a friend.—Tiedge.
Friendship is the holiest of gifts;God can bestow nothing more sacred upon us!It enhances every joy, mitigates every pain.Everyone can have a friend,Who himself knows how to be a friend.
Friendship is the holiest of gifts;
God can bestow nothing more sacred upon us!
It enhances every joy, mitigates every pain.
Everyone can have a friend,
Who himself knows how to be a friend.
—Tiedge.
—Tiedge.
Much beautiful and excellent and fairWas seen beneath the sun; but nought was seenMore beautiful or excellent or fairThan face of faithful friend, fairest when seenIn darkest day. And many sounds were sweet,Most ravishing and pleasant to the ear;But sweeter none than voice of faithful friend,Sweet always, sweetest heard in loudest storm.—Pollok.
Much beautiful and excellent and fairWas seen beneath the sun; but nought was seenMore beautiful or excellent or fairThan face of faithful friend, fairest when seenIn darkest day. And many sounds were sweet,Most ravishing and pleasant to the ear;But sweeter none than voice of faithful friend,Sweet always, sweetest heard in loudest storm.—Pollok.
Much beautiful and excellent and fairWas seen beneath the sun; but nought was seenMore beautiful or excellent or fairThan face of faithful friend, fairest when seenIn darkest day. And many sounds were sweet,Most ravishing and pleasant to the ear;But sweeter none than voice of faithful friend,Sweet always, sweetest heard in loudest storm.
Much beautiful and excellent and fair
Was seen beneath the sun; but nought was seen
More beautiful or excellent or fair
Than face of faithful friend, fairest when seen
In darkest day. And many sounds were sweet,
Most ravishing and pleasant to the ear;
But sweeter none than voice of faithful friend,
Sweet always, sweetest heard in loudest storm.
—Pollok.
—Pollok.
Respect so far the holy laws of this fellowship as not to prejudice its perfect flower by your impatience for its opening. We must be our own before we can be another’s.
—Emerson.
Nature loves nothing solitary, and always reaches out to something as a support, which ever in the sincerest friend is most delightful.
—Cicero.
Some I remember, and will ne’er forgetMy early friends, friends of my evil day;Friends in my mirth, friends in my misery too,Friends given by God in mercy and in love;My counsellors, my comforters, and guides;My joy in grief, my second bliss in joy;Companions of my young desires; in doubtMy oracles; my wings in high pursuit.Oh, I remember, and will ne’er forgetOur meeting spots, our chosen sacred hours;Our burning words that utter’d all the soul;Our faces beaming with unearthly love;Sorrow with sorrow sighing, hope with hopeExulting, heart embracing heart entire.—R. Pollok.
Some I remember, and will ne’er forgetMy early friends, friends of my evil day;Friends in my mirth, friends in my misery too,Friends given by God in mercy and in love;My counsellors, my comforters, and guides;My joy in grief, my second bliss in joy;Companions of my young desires; in doubtMy oracles; my wings in high pursuit.Oh, I remember, and will ne’er forgetOur meeting spots, our chosen sacred hours;Our burning words that utter’d all the soul;Our faces beaming with unearthly love;Sorrow with sorrow sighing, hope with hopeExulting, heart embracing heart entire.—R. Pollok.
Some I remember, and will ne’er forgetMy early friends, friends of my evil day;Friends in my mirth, friends in my misery too,Friends given by God in mercy and in love;My counsellors, my comforters, and guides;My joy in grief, my second bliss in joy;Companions of my young desires; in doubtMy oracles; my wings in high pursuit.Oh, I remember, and will ne’er forgetOur meeting spots, our chosen sacred hours;Our burning words that utter’d all the soul;Our faces beaming with unearthly love;Sorrow with sorrow sighing, hope with hopeExulting, heart embracing heart entire.
Some I remember, and will ne’er forget
My early friends, friends of my evil day;
Friends in my mirth, friends in my misery too,
Friends given by God in mercy and in love;
My counsellors, my comforters, and guides;
My joy in grief, my second bliss in joy;
Companions of my young desires; in doubt
My oracles; my wings in high pursuit.
Oh, I remember, and will ne’er forget
Our meeting spots, our chosen sacred hours;
Our burning words that utter’d all the soul;
Our faces beaming with unearthly love;
Sorrow with sorrow sighing, hope with hope
Exulting, heart embracing heart entire.
—R. Pollok.
—R. Pollok.
Gold can be tried by fire and the good-will of friends by time is tested.
—Menander.
My friend, with thee to live alone,Methinks were better than to ownA crown, a sceptre, and a throne.—Anon.
My friend, with thee to live alone,Methinks were better than to ownA crown, a sceptre, and a throne.—Anon.
My friend, with thee to live alone,Methinks were better than to ownA crown, a sceptre, and a throne.
My friend, with thee to live alone,
Methinks were better than to own
A crown, a sceptre, and a throne.
—Anon.
—Anon.
Where true love bestows its sweetness,Where true friendship lays its hand,Dwells all greatness, all completeness,All the wealth of every land.—Holland.
Where true love bestows its sweetness,Where true friendship lays its hand,Dwells all greatness, all completeness,All the wealth of every land.—Holland.
Where true love bestows its sweetness,Where true friendship lays its hand,Dwells all greatness, all completeness,All the wealth of every land.
Where true love bestows its sweetness,
Where true friendship lays its hand,
Dwells all greatness, all completeness,
All the wealth of every land.
—Holland.
—Holland.
Occasionally the choicest companions are somewhat dull, especially when they are happy and at ease in each other’s society.
—Arthur Helps.
Friendship, of itself a holy tie,Is made more sacred by adversity.—Dryden.
Friendship, of itself a holy tie,Is made more sacred by adversity.—Dryden.
Friendship, of itself a holy tie,Is made more sacred by adversity.
Friendship, of itself a holy tie,
Is made more sacred by adversity.
—Dryden.
—Dryden.
I do not wish to treat friendships daintily, but with roughest courage. When they are real, they are not glass threads or frostwork, but the solidest thing we know.
Friendship, I fancy, means one heart between two.
—Meredith.