„There is nothing on this earth more to be prized than true friendship.“
— Thomas Aquinas Italian Dominican scholastic philosopher of the Roman Catholic Church 1225 - 1274
Quotes about friendship
A collection of quotes on the topic of family, love, life, hostility.
Best quotes about friendship
„Love should not be polluted with friendship.“
— Erich Maria Remarque German novelist 1898 - 1970
Source: Arch of Triumph: A Novel of a Man Without a Country
„What is a friend? A single soul dwelling in two bodies.“
— Aristotle Classical Greek philosopher, student of Plato and founder of Western philosophy -384 - -321 BC
Variant: A friend is one soul abiding in two bodies.
Source: The Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers, p. 188; also reported in various sources as:
Friendship is a single soul dwelling in two bodies.
A true friend is one soul in two bodies.
Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies.
What is a friend? A single soul dwelling in two bodies.
„It is not a lack of love, but a lack of friendship that makes unhappy marriages.“
— Friedrich Nietzsche German philosopher, poet, composer, cultural critic, and classical philologist 1844 - 1900
„Animals are my friends… and I don't eat my friends.“
— George Bernard Shaw Irish playwright 1856 - 1950
„Words are easy, like the wind; Faithful friends are hard to find.“
— William Shakespeare, book The Passionate Pilgrim
Source: The Passionate Pilgrim
„Your Worst Enemy Could Be Your Best Friend && Your Best Friend Your Worst Enemy“
— Bob Marley Jamaican singer, songwriter, musician 1945 - 1981
„A true friend is the one who holds your hand and touches your heart“
— Gabriel García Márquez Colombian writer 1927 - 2014
Variant: Friend is the person that holds your hand and touches your heart!
„The antidote for fifty enemies is one friend.“
— Aristotle Classical Greek philosopher, student of Plato and founder of Western philosophy -384 - -321 BC
All quotes about friendship
Total 1018 quotes friendship, filter:
„Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer.“
— Sun Tzu ancient Chinese military general, strategist and philosopher from the Zhou Dynasty -543 - -495 BC
This has often been attributed to Sun Tzu and sometimes to Petrarch. It comes most directly from a line spoken by Michael Corleone in The Godfather Part II (1974), written by Mario Puzo and Francis Ford Coppola:
My father taught me many things here. He taught me in this room. He taught me: keep your friends close but your enemies closer.
Niccolò Machiavelli, who is also sometimes credited, wrote on the subject in The Prince:
It is easier for the prince to make friends of those men who were contented under the former government, and are therefore his enemies, than of those who, being discontented with it, were favourable to him and encouraged him to seize it.
Misattributed
„Don't be afraid of enemies who attack you. Be afraid of the friends who flatter you.“
— Dale Carnegie, How to Win Friends and Influence People
Source: How to Win Friends and Influence People
— Paramahansa Yogananda Yogi, a guru of Kriya Yoga and founder of Self-Realization Fellowship 1893 - 1952
„In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies but the silence of our friends.“
— Martin Luther King, Jr. American clergyman, activist, and leader in the American Civil Rights Movement 1929 - 1968
1960s, The Trumpet of Conscience (1967)
Variant: In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.
— George Eliot English novelist, journalist and translator 1819 - 1880
Thiis was published without credit in The Best Loved Poems of the American People (1936) with the title "Friendship", and since that time has sometimes been misattributed http://www.geonius.com/eliot/quotes.html to Eliot; it is actually an adaptation of lines by Dinah Craik, in A Life for a Life (1859):
Misattributed
Context: Oh, the comfort —
the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person —
having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words,
but pouring them all right out,
just as they are,
chaff and grain together;
certain that a faithful hand will take and sift them,
keep what is worth keeping,
and then with the breath of kindness blow the rest away.
— Jesse Owens American track and field athlete 1913 - 1980
On the congratulations given by German athlete Lutz Long, a competitor in the long jump, who in some accounts he credited with giving him some friendly advice that helped him to win against him; as quoted in "Owens pierced a myth" by Larry Schwartz http://espn.go.com/sportscentury/features/00016393.html in ESPN SportsCentury (2005)
Context: It took a lot of courage for him to befriend me in front of Hitler... You can melt down all the medals and cups I have and they wouldn't be a plating on the 24-karat friendship I felt for Lutz Long at that moment. Hitler must have gone crazy watching us embrace. The sad part of the story is I never saw Long again. He was killed in World War II.
— Kurt Cobain American musician and artist 1967 - 1994
Lithium.
Song lyrics, Nevermind (1991)
Variant: I'm so happy
'Cause today I found my friends
They're in my head.
I'm so ugly, that's okay
'Cause so are you,
Broke our mirrors.
Source: Nirvana
— Muhammad Ali African American boxer, philanthropist and activist 1942 - 2016
Response to Harold Bell, question about his view on friendship in an Interview (video) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InSFYdFaS3E.
„Load up on guns, bring your friends.“
— Kurt Cobain American musician and artist 1967 - 1994
Song lyrics, Nevermind (1991)
„Being honest may not get you a lot of friends but it’ll always get you the right ones.“
— John Lennon English singer and songwriter 1940 - 1980
„You have enemies? Good. That means you’ve stood up for something, sometime in your life.“
— Victor Hugo, book Things Seen
Often attributed to Churchill, this thought was originally expressed by the French author Victor Hugo in Villemain (1845), as follows: You have enemies? Why, it is the story of every man who has done a great deed or created a new idea. It is the cloud which thunders around everything that shines. Fame must have enemies, as light must have gnats. Do not bother yourself about it; disdain. Keep your mind serene as you keep your life clear.
Villemain is a brief segment taken from Hugo’s Choses Vues (Things Seen), a running journal Hugo kept of events he witnessed. The original French versions of these journals were published after Hugo's death.
Misattributed
— Dale Carnegie, How to Win Friends and Influence People
Variant: You can make more friends in two months by being interested in them, than in two years by making them interested in you.
Source: How to Win Friends and Influence People (1936), p. 52 (in 1998 edition)
— Trenton Lee Stewart, The Mysterious Benedict Society
Source: The Mysterious Benedict Society
„Friendship is the only cement that will ever hold the world together.“
— Woodrow Wilson American politician, 28th president of the United States (in office from 1913 to 1921) 1856 - 1924
Red Cross Speech http://books.google.com/books?id=f6l-dsvnjhEC&pg=PA406&dq=%22Friendship+is+the+only+cement%22, New York (18 May 1918)
1910s
„A faithful friend is a strong defense;
And he that hath found him hath found a treasure.“
— Louisa May Alcott American novelist 1832 - 1888
„No friendship is an accident.“
— O. Henry American short story writer 1862 - 1910
Source: Heart of the West
— Meryl Streep American actress 1949
Misattributed to Meryl Streep (and widely disseminated on the Internet as of August/September 2014), this quote is allegedly a translation of a text by the author José Micard Teixeira, the original of which begins (in Portuguese): "Já não tenho paciência para algumas coisas, não porque me tenha tornado arrogante..."
Misattributed
„Friendship often ends in love; but love in friendship—never.“
— Charles Caleb Colton British priest and writer 1777 - 1832
Vol. II; LXXXIII
Lacon
„Fear is the true enemy, the only enemy.“
— Sun Tzu ancient Chinese military general, strategist and philosopher from the Zhou Dynasty -543 - -495 BC
Attributed implicitly to Sun Tzu by "William Riker" in the episode The Last Outpost of the TV program Star Trek: The Next Generation, but no source for this quote predates the episode's airing in 1987.
Misattributed
— Aristotle Classical Greek philosopher, student of Plato and founder of Western philosophy -384 - -321 BC
Variant: A friend to all is a friend to none.
„Not all treasure is silver and gold, mate“
— Johnny Depp American actor, film producer, and musician 1963
„Keep your friends for friendship, but work with the skilled and competent“
— Robert Greene, book The 48 Laws of Power
Source: The 48 Laws of Power
„Friends don’t spy; true friendship is about privacy, too.“
— Stephen King, book Hearts in Atlantis
Source: Hearts in Atlantis
— Virginia Woolf English writer 1882 - 1941
The Quote Investigator http://quoteinvestigator.com/tag/virginia-woolf/ traces the origin of such statements to The Intimate Notebooks of George Jean Nathan (1932), where the diarist states:
We were sitting one morning two Summers ago, Ferenc Molnár, Dr. Rudolf Kommer and I, in the little garden of a coffee-house in the Austrian Tyrol. “Your writing?” we asked him. “How do you regard it?” Languidly he readjusted the inevitable monocle to his eye. “Like a whore,” he blandly ventured. “First, I did it for my own pleasure. Then I did it for the pleasure of my friends. And now — I do it for money.”
Misattributed
— Adeline Yen Mah, book Chinese Cinderella and the Secret Dragon Society
Source: Chinese Cinderella and the Secret Dragon Society
„It's a little hard not to worry when my best friend keeps on dying.“
— Kristin Cast, book Hunted
Source: Hunted
— Joseph Stalin General secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union 1879 - 1953
Often attributed to Stalin, there is not a single source which show that Stalin said this at any given time. There is only one source outside the blogosphere which attributes the quote to Stalin, but does not provide any evidence for the attribution. That source is the book Quotations for Public Speakers : A Historical, Literary, and Political Anthology (2001), p. 121 by the former US senator Robert Torricelli.
Misattributed
— Manly P. Hall Canadian writer and mystic 1901 - 1990
The Lost Keys Of Freemasonry (1923)
Context: What nobler relationship than that of friend? What nobler compliment can man bestow than friendship? The bonds and ties of the life we know break easily, but through eternity one bond remains — the bond of fellowship — the fellowship of atoms, of star dust in its endless flight, of suns and worlds, of gods and men. The clasped hands of comradeship unite in a bond eternal — the fellowship of spirit.
— Chris Martin musician, co-founder of Coldplay 1977
http://www.metroguiltypleasures.com/metro/coldplays-chris-martin-is-a-modern-day-shakespeare-says-jay-z/ source
„Friendship is a precious thing, Sayuri. One mustn't throw it away.“
— Arthur Golden, book Memoirs of a Geisha
Source: Memoirs of a Geisha
„Unreal friendship may turn to real
But real friendship, once ended, cannot be mended“
— T.S. Eliot, Murder in the Cathedral
Source: Murder in the Cathedral
— Irving Stone American writer 1903 - 1989
Source: Clarence Darrow for the Defense
„The only true test of friendship is the time your friend spends on you.“
— John Marsden author 1950
Source: Circle of Flight
„Without friends no one would choose to live, though he had all other goods.“
— Aristotle, book Nicomachean Ethics
Book VIII, 1155a.5
Nicomachean Ethics
Original: (el) ἄνευ γὰρ φίλων οὐδεὶς ἕλοιτ᾽ ἂν ζῆν, ἔχων τὰ λοιπὰ ἀγαθὰ πάντα
Source: The Nicomachean Ethics
„Let me tell you something my friend. Hope is a dangerous thing. Hope can drive a man insane.“
— Stephen King, book Different Seasons
Source: Different Seasons
„Tis the privilege of friendship to talk nonsense, and to have her nonsense respected.“
— Charles Lamb English essayist 1775 - 1834
Source: The Life, Letters and Writings of Charles Lamb
Source: Masterpiece
— John O'Donohue Irish writer, priest and philosopher 1956 - 2008
Source: Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom
„The knight of knowledge must be able not only to love his enemies, but also to hate his friends.“
— Friedrich Nietzsche, book Ecce homo
Der Mensch der Erkenntniss muss nicht nur seine Feinde lieben, er muss auch seine Freunde hassen können.
Foreword, in the Oscar Levy authorized translation.
Variant translations:
The man of knowledge must be able not only to love his enemies but also to hate his friends.
Ecce Homo (1888)
„Never explain — your friends do not need it and your enemies will not believe you anyhow.“
— Elbert Hubbard American writer, publisher, artist, and philosopher fue el escritor del jarron azul 1856 - 1915
The Motto Book (1907).
Variant: Never explain — your friends do not need it and your enemies will not believe you anyhow.
— Aristotle Classical Greek philosopher, student of Plato and founder of Western philosophy -384 - -321 BC
„Your friend is the man who knows all about you, and still likes you.“
— Elbert Hubbard American writer, publisher, artist, and philosopher fue el escritor del jarron azul 1856 - 1915
Variant: A friend is one who knows you and loves you just the same.
Source: The Note Book of Elbert Hubbard (1927), p. 112.
— Henry Wadsworth Longfellow American poet 1807 - 1882
Table-Talk (1857)
Source: The Complete Works of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
— Albert Schweitzer French-German physician, theologian, musician and philosopher 1875 - 1965
Variant: Constant kindness can accomplish much. As the sun makes ice melt, kindness causes misunderstanding, mistrust, and hostility to evaporate.
„Wishing to be friends is quick work, but friendship is a slow ripening fruit.“
— Aristotle Classical Greek philosopher, student of Plato and founder of Western philosophy -384 - -321 BC
„Let us learn to show our friendship for a man when he is alive and not after he is dead.“
— F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby
Source: The Great Gatsby (1925), ch. 9
— Eleanor Roosevelt American politician, diplomat, and activist, and First Lady of the United States 1884 - 1962
As quoted in The Beacon Book of Quotations by Women (1992) by Rosalie Maggio, p. 130
„Some people have a large circle of friends while others have only friends that they like.“
— Woodrow Wilson American politician, 28th president of the United States (in office from 1913 to 1921) 1856 - 1924
„Business, you know, may bring money, but friendship hardly ever does.“
— Jane Austen, book Emma
Source: Emma (1815)
— André Maurois French writer 1885 - 1967
Un Art de Vivre (The Art of Living) (1939), The Art of Growing Old
„Marriage is the cure of love, and friendship the cure of marriage.“
— Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield British statesman and man of letters 1694 - 1773
Detached Thoughts http://books.google.com/books?id=vVdSAAAAcAAJ&q=%22Marriage+is+the+cure+of+love+and+friendship+the+cure+of+marriage%22&pg=PA384#v=onepage, first published in Letters and Works of Philip Dormer Stanhope, volume 5 (1847)
„Plato is my friend — Aristotle is my friend — but my greatest friend is truth.“
Amicus Plato — amicus Aristoteles — magis amica veritas
— Isaac Newton British physicist and mathematician and founder of modern classical physics 1643 - 1727
These are notes in Latin that Newton wrote to himself that he titled: Quaestiones Quaedam Philosophicae [Certain Philosophical Questions] (c. 1664)
Variant translations: Plato is my friend, Aristotle is my friend, but my best friend is truth.
Plato is my friend — Aristotle is my friend — truth is a greater friend.
This is a variation on a much older adage, which Roger Bacon attributed to Aristotle: Amicus Plato sed magis amica veritas. Bacon was perhaps paraphrasing a statement in the Nicomachean Ethics: Where both are friends, it is right to prefer truth.
„Being sociable and affable with people brings kindness and friendship.“
— Muhammad al-Baqir fifth of the Twelve Shia Imams 677 - 733
Ibn Shu’ba al-Harrani, Tuhaf al-'Uqul, p. 306
„Money and friendship bribe justice.
Beauty is potent, but money is omnipotent.“
— John Ray British botanist 1627 - 1705
Source: English Proverbs (1670), p. 94
„In reality, we are still children. We want to find a playmate for our thoughts and feelings.“
— Wilhelm Stekel Austrian physician and psychologist 1868 - 1940
As quoted in The Book Of Friendship: Making Life Better (2001) by Cyndi Haynes, p. 6
— Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus
The monster in Ch. 13
Frankenstein (1818)
Context: What was I? Of my creation and creator I was absolutely ignorant, but I knew that I possessed no money, no friends, no kind of property. I was, besides, endued with a figure hideously deformed and loathsome; I was not even of the same nature as man. I was more agile than they and could subsist upon coarser diet; I bore the extremes of heat and cold with less injury to my frame; my stature far exceeded theirs. When I looked around I saw and heard of none like me. Was I, then, a monster, a blot upon the earth, from which all men fled and whom all men disowned?
I cannot describe to you the agony that these reflections inflicted upon me; I tried to dispel them, but sorrow only increased with knowledge. Oh, that I had forever remained in my native wood, nor known nor felt beyond the sensations of hunger, thirst, and heat!
— Sun Tzu ancient Chinese military general, strategist and philosopher from the Zhou Dynasty -543 - -495 BC
Variant translations
If you know others and know yourself, you will not be imperiled in a hundred battles; if you do not know others but know yourself, you win one and lose one; if you do not know others and do not know yourself, you will be imperiled in every single battle.
Know your enemy and know yourself, find naught in fear for 100 battles. Know yourself but not your enemy, find level of loss and victory. Know not thy enemy nor yourself, wallow in defeat every time.
Literal translation: Know [the] other, know [the] self, hundred battles without danger; not knowing [the] other but know [the] self, one win one loss; not knowing [the] other, not knowing [the] self, every battle must [be] lost.
Original: (zh-TW) 知彼知己，百戰不殆；不知彼而知己，一勝一負；不知彼，不知己，每戰必殆
Source: The Art of War, Chapter III · Strategic Attack
— Robert Louis Stevenson, book Across the Plains
Source: Across the Plains (1892), Ch. IX, Beggars.
Context: We should wipe two words from our vocabulary: gratitude and charity. In real life, help is given out of friendship, or it is not valued; it is received from the hand of friendship, or it is resented.
— Ben Shapiro American journalist and attorney 1984
Speech to Young America's Foundation at Reagan Ranch https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZRuwjvAMuQ,
2015
— Xi Jinping General Secretary of the Communist Party of China and paramount leader of China 1953
As quoted in " 18 photos that show the blossoming bromance between China's Xi Jinping and Russia's Vladimir Putin https://www.businessinsider.com/china-xi-jinping-russia-vladimir-putin-best-friends-photos-2019-6" Business Insider
2010s
— Benjamin Creme artist, author, esotericist 1922 - 2016
The Art of Living: Living within the Laws of Life (2006)
