The collection / 353 fragments

Friendship.

Explore passages mentioning friend, friends, friendship. Topic suggestions use transparent word matching, not scholarly classification. Editorial meanings and lexical matches are discovery aids, not independent authentication of a quotation.

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01c. 1872 AD

Across the Plank.—One must be able to dissimulate in intercourse with persons who are ashamed of their feelings; they take a sudden aversion to anyone who surprises them in a state of tenderness, or of enthusiastic and high-running feeling, as if he had seen their secrets. If one wants to be kind to them in such moments one should make them laugh, or say some kind of cold, playful wickedness:—their feeling thereby congeals, and they are again self-possessed. But I give the moral before the story.—We were once on a time so near one another in the course of our lives, that nothing more seemed to hinder our friendship and fraternity, and there was merely a small plank between us. While you were just about to step on it, I asked you: "Do you want to come across the plank to me?" But then you did not want to come any longer; and when I again entreated, you were silent. Since then mountains and torrents, and whatever separates and alienates, have interposed between us, and even if we wanted to come to one another, we could no longer do so! When, however, you now remember that small plank, you have no longer words,—but merely sobs and amazement.

Friedrich Nietzsche / quote

02c. 1872 AD

Concerning an Invalid.—"Things go badly with him!"—What is wrong?—" He suffers from the longing to be praised, and finds no sustenance for it."—Inconceivable! All the world does honour to him, and he is reverenced not only in deed but in word!—"Certainly, but he is dull of hearing for the praise. When a friend praises him it sounds to him as if the friend praised himself; when an enemy praises him, it sounds to him as if the enemy wanted to be praised for it; when, finally, some one else praises him—there are by no means so many of these, he is so famous!—he is offended because they neither want him for a friend nor for an enemy; he is accustomed to say: 'What do I care for those who can still pose as the all-righteous towards me!'"

Friedrich Nietzsche / quote

03In print by 1857 AD

By telling our woes we often assuage them.

Traditional (French-language collection) · Unknown culture / proverb

Meaning: Putting a difficulty into words can sometimes make it feel less isolating or easier to examine. The saying values telling someone who can listen without promising that disclosure resolves the problem.

04In print by 1857 AD

Much kindred, much trouble.

Traditional (French-language collection) · Unknown culture / proverb

Meaning: Many relatives may bring many demands or disagreements. The saying points to the work of relationships without proving that a large family is a burden.

05In print by 1857 AD

Two sparrows on the same ear of corn are not long friends.

Traditional (French-language collection) · Unknown culture / proverb

Meaning: Competition over one limited resource can strain a relationship. Make the sharing arrangement explicit before scarcity turns ordinary cooperation into conflict.

06In print by 1857 AD

He is called clever who cheats and plunders his friend.

Traditional (French-language collection) · Unknown culture / proverb

Meaning: Calling someone clever can hide the harm of exploiting a friend. Skill in obtaining an advantage does not make deception admirable or fair.

07In print by 1857 AD

One must howl with the wolves.

Traditional (French-language collection) · Unknown culture / proverb

Meaning: Pressure to fit a group can encourage copying its behaviour. The wolves’ howl depicts conformity, whose usefulness depends on what the group asks you to do.

08In print by 1857 AD

A good dog never barks at fault.

Traditional (French-language collection) · Unknown culture / proverb

Meaning: A reliable warning deserves attention, but the confidence placed in its source should not replace checking the situation. Even an experienced observer may sometimes be mistaken.

09In print by 1857 AD

A landmark is very well placed between the fields of two brothers.

Traditional (French-language collection) · Unknown culture / proverb

Meaning: Clear boundaries can protect a close relationship by preventing avoidable disagreement. Trust and explicit arrangements can work together instead of being treated as opposing choices.

10In print by 1857 AD

The skin is nearer than the shirt.

Traditional (French-language collection) · Unknown culture / proverb

Meaning: Immediate personal interests may feel stronger than interests at a greater distance. Recognise that closeness without assuming it justifies ignoring every obligation to others.

11In print by 1857 AD

The last come is the best liked.

Traditional (French-language collection) · Unknown culture / proverb

Meaning: A newcomer may receive especially warm attention because their arrival is fresh. Notice the effect of novelty without assuming older relationships have become less valuable.

12In print by 1857 AD

The rich man has more relations than he knows.

Traditional (French-language collection) · Unknown culture / proverb

Meaning: Wealth may attract people who claim closeness beyond an established relationship. Examine the basis of a new connection, without assuming that every approach to a wealthy person is insincere.

13In print by 1857 AD

Little presents maintain friendship.

Traditional (French-language collection) · Unknown culture / proverb

Meaning: A modest gift can help sustain a friendship by expressing attention. The value lies in considerate remembrance, rather than the price of the present or an obligation to exchange things.

14In print by 1857 AD

For a good companion good company.

Traditional (Spanish-language collection) · Unknown culture / proverb

Meaning: Good companionship is answered with good company. The short exchange values the quality of a shared relationship, without making friendship a payment or assuming that agreement alone makes someone a good companion.

15In print by 1857 AD

Associate with the good, and you will be one of them.

Traditional (Spanish-language collection) · Unknown culture / proverb

Meaning: The company of people acting well can encourage similar conduct. Association is presented as an influence, without guaranteeing goodness, making moral worth contagious or dividing people into permanently good and bad groups.

16In print by 1857 AD

He is your friend who gets you out of a fray.

Traditional (Spanish-language collection) · Unknown culture / proverb

Meaning: A friend helps remove you from a conflict rather than simply applauding your involvement. Getting out of the fray makes care visible through de-escalation and practical support.

17In print by 1857 AD

The cat always leaves her mark upon her friend.

Traditional (Spanish-language collection) · Unknown culture / proverb

Meaning: Even a friendly encounter can leave a hurtful mark. The cat image separates affectionate intention from the effects of contact, without proving that every friendship causes harm.