“136. Old wine and an old friend are good provisions.”

“Age appears best in four things: old wood to burn, old wine to drink, old friends to trust and old authors to read.”

Francis Bacon (1561–1626) English philosopher, statesman, scientist, jurist, and author

“Alonso of Aragon was wont to say in commendation of age, that age appears to be best in four things — old wood best to burn, old wine to drink, old friends to trust, and old authors to read.”

Francis Bacon (1561–1626) English philosopher, statesman, scientist, jurist, and author

“Is not old wine wholesomest, old pippins toothsomest, old wood burn brightest, old linen wash whitest? Old soldiers, sweethearts, are surest, and old lovers are soundest.”

John Webster (1578–1634) English dramatist

“Ah, how good it feels! The hand of an old friend.”

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807–1882) American poet

“Learning is an ornament in prosperity, a refuge in adversity, and a provision in old age.”

Aristotle (-384–-321 BC) Classical Greek philosopher, student of Plato and founder of Western philosophy

“The Fifth Amendment is an old friend and a good friend, one of the great landmarks in men's struggle to be free of tyranny, to be decent and civilized.”

William O. Douglas (1898–1980) Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States

“There's no friends like the old friends.”

James Joyce book Dubliners

“Old friends, like old shoes, are comfortable. But old shoes, unlike old friends, tend not to be supportive: it is easier to stumble and sprain an ankle while wearing a pair of old shoes than it is in new shoes, with their less yielding leather.”

Alexander McCall Smith (1948) British writer

“There are three faithful friends, an old wife, an old dog, and ready money.”

Benjamin Franklin (1706–1790) American author, printer, political theorist, politician, postmaster, scientist, inventor, civic activist, …