Source: Essays and Sketches of Life and Character (1820), p. 136
“The rare few, who, early in life, have rid themselves of the friendship of the many.”
Dedication
1870 - 1903, The Gentle Art of Making Enemies' (1890)
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James McNeill Whistler 26
American-born, British-based artist 1834–1903Related quotes
Herbert N. Casson cited in: Supervisory Management. Vol. 1 (1955). p. 60
1950s and later
"On Medical Education" (1870) http://aleph0.clarku.edu/huxley/CE3/MedEd.html
1870s
Context: I can assure you that there is the greatest practical benefit in making a few failures early in life. You learn that which is of inestimable importance — that there are a great many people in the world who are just as clever as you are. You learn to put your trust, by and by, in an economy and frugality of the exercise of your powers, both moral and intellectual; and you very soon find out, if you have not found it out before, that patience and tenacity of purpose are worth more than twice their weight of cleverness.
“Rare as is true love, true friendship is rarer.”
Kenneth Harris, Attlee (Weidenfeld and Nicholson, London, 1982)
Self-penned limerick.
1960s
As quoted in Hugs for Girlfriends : Stories, Sayings, and Scriptures to Encourage and Inspire (2001) by Philis Boultinghouse and LeAnn Weiss, p. 7; there seem to be no published sources available for this statement prior to 2001.
Disputed
The Socialist Party and the Working Class (1904)