Quotes
Quotes about Friends
Few men have the natural strength to honour a friend's success without envy.... I well know that mirror of friendship, shadow of a shade.
Many a time,... from a bad beginning great friendships have sprung up.
It is a maxim of old that among themselves all things are common to friends.
Prosperity makes friends, adversity tries them.
Anacharsis coming to Athens, knocked at Solon's door, and told him that he, being a stranger, was come to be his guest, and contract a friendship with him; and Solon replying, "It is better to make friends at home," Anacharsis replied, "Then you that are at home make friendship with me."
A Roman divorced from his wife, being highly blamed by his friends, who demanded, "Was she not chaste? Was she not fair? Was she not fruitful?" holding out his shoe, asked them whether it was not new and well made. "Yet," added he, "none of you can tell where it pinches me."
Alexander wept when he heard from Anaxarchus that there was an infinite number of worlds; and his friends asking him if any accident had befallen him, he returns this answer: "Do you not think it a matter worthy of lamentation that when there is such a vast multitude of them, we have not yet conquered one?"
After he routed Pharnaces Ponticus at the first assault, he wrote thus to his friends: "I came, I saw, I conquered."
Agesilaus was very fond of his children; and it is reported that once toying with them he got astride upon a reed as upon a horse, and rode about the room; and being seen by one of his friends, he desired him not to speak of it till he had children of his own.
He said that men ought to remember those friends who were absent as well as those who were present.
He used to say that it was better to have one friend of great value than many friends who were good for nothing.
Bion insisted on the principle that "The property of friends is common."
The question was once put to him, how we ought to behave to our friends; and the answer he gave was, "As we should wish our friends to behave to us."
All things are in common among friends.
Believe me, a thousand friends suffice thee not;
In a single enemy thou hast more than enough.
Friendship is only a reciprocal conciliation of interests, and an exchange of good offices; it is a species of commerce out of which self-love always expects to gain something.
In the adversity of our best friends we often find something that is not exactly displeasing.
My fair one, let us swear an eternal friendship.
Defend me from my friends; I can defend myself from my enemies.
He that repeateth a matter separateth very friends.
A man that hath friends must show himself friendly; and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.
I was wounded in the house of my friends.
Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
..the virtue of a man consists in managing the cityâs affairs capably, and so that he will help his friends and injure his foes while taking care to come to no harm himself. Or if you want a womanâs virtue, that is easily described. She must be a good housewife, careful with her stores and obedient to her husband.
Enemies cancel each other out. The great thing, perhaps, is not to have friends
