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Friendship

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“There can be no Friendship where there is no Freedom. Friendship loves a free Air, and will not be penned up in streight and narrow Enclosures. It will speak freely, and act so too; and take nothing ill where no ill is meant; nay, where it is, ’twill easily forgive, and forget too, upon small Acknowledgments.”
William Penn (1644–1718) said by 1718 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Son, you're probably too young to look for wisdom in anyone's words but your own, but I'll tell you this: love is the enemy... Yes. The poets continually and sometimes willfully mistake love. Love is the old slaughterer. Love is not blind. Love is a cannibal with extremely acute vision. Love is insectile; it is always hungry. When asked what love eats: Friendship. It eats friendship.”
Stephen King (born 1947) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Friendship, 'tis said, is love without his wings, And friendship, sir, is sweet enough for me.”
Alfred Austin (1835–1913) said by 1913 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I’ve built walls, A fortress deep and mighty, That none may penetrate. I have no need of friendship; friendship causes pain. It’s laughter and it’s loving I disdain.”
Paul Simon (born 1941) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Friendship marks a life even more deeply than love. Love risks degenerating into obsession, friendship is never anything but sharing.”
Elie Wiesel (1928–2016) first seen 1964 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Gates of the Forest (1964)
“Before the flowers of friendship faded friendship faded.”
Gertrude Stein (1874–1946) first seen 1925 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: This phrase was used as the title of a work published in 1931, but was originally used in Ch. LXII of A Novel of Thank You, written in 1925-1926, but not published until 1958 by the Yale University Press
“You can date the evolving life of a mind, like the age of a tree, by the rings of friendship formed by the expanding central trunk. In the course of my history, not love or marriage so much as friendship has promoted growth.”
Mary McCarthy (1912–1989) said by 1989 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Love is not dependency or sex, but is friendship, and, therefore, love can't exist between two males, between a male and a female or between two females, one or both of whom is a mindless, insecure, pandering male; like conversation it can exist only between two secure, free-wheeling, independent, groovy female females, as friendship is based on [respect, not contempt.]”
Valerie Solanas (1936–1988) said by 1988 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The friendship of one wise man is better than the friendship of a host of fools.”
Democritus (461–361 BC) said by 361 BC at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“To desire friendship is a great fault. Friendship should be a gratuitous joy like those afforded by art or life. We must refuse it so that we may be worthy to receive it; it is of the order of grace.”
Simone Weil (1909–1943) said by 1943 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“A friendship that like love is warm; A love like friendship, steady.”
Thomas Moore (1779–1852) said by 1852 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“If our love for each other really is participatory, then all other human relationships nourish it; it is inclusive, never exclusive. If a friendship makes me love Hugh more, then I can trust that friendship. If it thrusts itself between us, then it should be cut out, and quickly.”
Madeleine L'Engle (1918–2007) said by 2007 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Any person and any element who harms the friendship between Afghanistan and the Soviet Union will be considered the enemy of the country, enemy of our people and enemy of our revolution. We will not allow anybody in Afghanistan to act against the friendship of Afghanistan and the Soviet Union.”
Hafizullah Amin (1929–1979) said by 1979 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in Beverley Male (1982) Revolutionary Afghanistan: A Reappraisal, page 183
“I had fresh confirmation that acting contrary to present outward interest, from a motive of Divine love and in regard to truth and righteousness, and thereby incurring the resentments of people, opens the way to a treasure better than silver, and to a friendship exceeding the friendship of men.”
John Woolman (1720–1772) said by 1772 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“'Friendship's best,' I said, 'and friendship's forever because no baby can come along to spoil it.'”
Susan Howatch (born 1940) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The Mass is a priviledged encounter with Jesus Christ. Christianity is not a philosophy, is not a social theory, is not an ideology, Christianity is a relationship with Christ, it is a friendship with Him. Everything in Christianity relates to and comes back to that friendship. What's the Mass? The Mass is the most intense way to see the ethernity that we can commune with Jesus.”
Robert Barron (bishop) first seen 2017 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Bishop Barron on the Mass (November 9, 2017)
“Despising each other as we did, we were constantly together, thereby degrading ourselves. If that is what the world calls friendship, the relations between Horiki and myself were undoubtedly those of friendship.”
Osamu Dazai (1909–1948) said by 1948 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Friendship is ultimately revelatory because of, not despite, its limitations. One person can’t save another. But to be a member of a real friendship means that you recognize that…and try anyway. It’s the realization that what you’re doing may not resolve anything—but that lack of resolution doesn’t mean it’s not worth doing.”
Hanya Yanagihara (born 1974) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Sell not the friendship of the Lord for the friendship of the world and its possessions.”
Sufyan al-Thawri (716–784) said by 784 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Friendship and trust" were the foundation of the (current Israeli) government and only "friendship and trust" will keep it in power.”
Yair Lapid (born 1963) first seen 2021 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As cited in "At first cabinet meeting, Bennett, Lapid vow to work to make new government last", The Times of Israel (14 June 2021).
“Friendship takes time and energy if it’s going to work. You can luck into something great, but it doesn’t last if you don’t give it proper appreciation. Friendship can be so comfortable, but nurture it — don’t take it for granted.”
Betty White (1922–2021) said by 2021 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Friendship was salvation, in this fragile world the only thing left that was not fragile. I promise you one can be drunk on friendship as well as on love.”
Jacques Lusseyran (1924–1971) said by 1971 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I always believe the real foundation of China-U.S. relations is the friendship and mutual understanding between our peoples. So this is the root of state-to-state relations and there's such an infusion among American states, cities and towns and ordinary Americans to learn more about China, to develop friendship with Chinese people, to facilitate cooperation between our two countries.”
Cui Tiankai (born 1952) first seen 2020 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Transcript: Ambassador Cui Tiankai on "Face the Nation"" in CBS (9 February 2020)
“If this is the reward that comes to this country from one year’s friendship and advocacy, surely the least we can do is to reconsider our estimate of the Chinese Communist regime... While we might maintain diplomatic relations with the Chinese Government on a basis of reciprocity, there can be no longer any illusions about friendship, about cordiality and about comradeship in Asia.”
Minoo Masani (1905–1998) said by 1998 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The friendship has never crossed over the fence...The garden was the intermediary that brought them together. As the garden blossomed, so did the friendship — but never did it cross their thresholds.”
Blume Lempel (1910–1999) said by 1999 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I am also prepared to admit the value of an enduring friendship and faithfulness between two persons of the same sex. Friendship has always been held in great honour in the ancient world, perhaps more so than today, even though it was mostly understood in the context of that transcending of the purely physical sphere I mentioned above, to be a union of minds and hearts.”
Carlo Maria Martini (1927–2012) first seen 2012 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in https://www.corriere.it/cultura/12_marzo_23/martini-marino-credere-conoscere_40c6c1da-74eb-11e1-9cbf-6c08e5424a86.shtml Martini: il valore di un legame tra persone dello stesso sesso], Corriere.it(March 23,…
“Friendship has splendors that love knows not. It grows stronger when crossed, whereas obstacles kill love. Friendship resists time, which wearies and severs couples. It has heights unknown to love.”
Mariama Bâ (1929–1981) said by 1981 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Also quoted by: Mariam Ba
“My wife is the only person I’m answerable to. If she had complained about my close friendship with Allwell, I would have stepped back from the friendship.”
Rotimi Salami wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“As a Filipino, we have strong ties with the Japanese. And I want to bring that friendship that we have with Japan when I go there, and to introduce the similarities of our culture to the other candidates, to share with them how beautiful our friendship is with Japan,”
Myrna Esguerra first seen 2025 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Myrna Esguerra experiences Japanese culture ahead of Miss International, INQUIRER.net 23 October 2025.
“A gang is the same as a wolf pack; gang members do not use their energies in friendship with one another, for they do not know what friendship is. If they are united, it is by the common bond of a desire to attack their world.”
Haniel Long (1888–1956) said by 1956 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Marieke and Rachel have a very deep, complicated friendship. It was forged as teenagers when Rachel’s mom unexpectedly passed away and Marieke kind of adopted Rachel as her little sister. Rachel, however, has a stronger personality, and always dominated the friendship. But Marieke was just glad to follow along and bask in some of ‘perfect’ Rachel’s glory.”
Anel Alexander (born 1979) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“As the shadow in early morning, is friendship with the wicked; it dwindles hour by hour. But friendship with the good increases, like the evening shadows, till the sun of life sets.”
Johann Gottfried Herder (attributed) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“My friends, do they now and then send A wish or a thought after me? O tell me I yet have a friend, Though a friend I am never to see.”
William Cowper (1731–1800) said by 1800 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The Hazer would be arriving at about the same time as Ulysses and the three of them could spend a pleasant evening. It was not too often that two good friends ever visited here at once. He stood a bit aghast at thinking of the Hazer as a friend, for more than likely the being itself was one he had never met. But that made little difference, for a Hazer, any Hazer, would turn out to be a friend.”
Clifford D. Simak (1904–1988) said by 1988 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I am speaking now of the highest duty we owe our friends, the noblest, the most sacred — that of keeping their own nobleness, goodness, pure and incorrupt.... If we let our friend become cold and selfish and exacting without a remonstrance, we are no true lover, no true friend.”
Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811–1896) said by 1896 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“My dad, my step-mum, my friend who doesn’t live in Kenya, and my man are my friends. I have never found a genuine friend who has my character traits. Someone true to themselves like me. People are different and they have different interests. A lot of women want to talk to me just to benefit. I am very introverted.”
Karen Nyamu wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I always wanted to have many friends, unfortunately, friends are formed with years, and not everybody know how to respond as a friend.”
Luis Miguel (born 1970) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Old friends pass away, new friends appear. It is just like the days. An old day passes, a new day arrives. The important thing is to make it meaningful: a meaningful friend — or a meaningful day.”
Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama (born 1935) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Every one that flatters thee Is no friends in misery. Words are easy, like the wind; Faithful friends are hard to find. Every man will be thy friend Whilst thou hast wherewith to spend; But if store of crowns be scant, No man will supply thy want.”
Richard Barnfield (1574–1627) said by 1627 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Lots of my friends have babies, but I don't have any babies. But I have lots of friends; babies don't have any friends. They all have those baby-monitors so they can hear the baby from the other room, which I consider a form of wiretapping. One day there's gonna be a really smart baby who makes a fake recording of some fake baby noises... gonna crawl out of the window and go to Italy.”
Steven Wright (born 1955) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I'm aware that many of my friends will be saddened and shocked, or shock-saddened, over some of the chapters in The Catcher in the Rye. Some of my best friends are children. In fact, all my best friends are children. It's almost unbearable for me to realize that my book will be kept on a shelf out of their reach.”
J. D. Salinger (1919–2010) first seen 1972 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in The Twentieth Century (1972) by Caroline Farrar Ware, p. 429
“The Trenchcoat Mafia. "Nobody will play with us, we have no friends, we're the Trenchcoat Mafia." Hell, I saw the yearbook picture, it was six of 'em! I ain't have six friends in high school. I don't got six friends now! Shit, that's 3-on-3 with a half-court!”
Chris Rock (born 1965) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The friends of my friends are my friends.”
John le Carré (1931–2020) said by 2020 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I had my group of friends, you know, like my real group of friends, and then I had, like, party friends.”
Jack Osbourne (born 1985) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Friends.. old friends... One sees how it ends. A woman looks Or a man tells lies, And the pleasant brooks And the quiet skies, Ruined with brawling And caterwauling, Enchant no more As they did before; And so it ends With friends.”
William Ernest Henley (1849–1903) said by 1903 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“So the only other reason you should ever have a conversation, or be friends, with anyone on the left is—and not even be friends—if you are in public in front of a large audience, and then your goal is to humiliate them as badly as possible. That is the goal of the conversation. The goal is not to convince the person. The goal is not to make friends with that person.”
Ben Shapiro (born 1984) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I expect you'll miss your friends." "I don't really have any friends; not real ones. Anyway, we'll make new friends.”
Richard Yates (1926–1992) said by 1992 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Friends, after all, are supposed to mutually help each other, mutually understand each other. Keeping one’s strengths secret doesn’t only prevent one’s friends from knowing you; it also prevents one’s friends from advancing and learning from your strengths. Many such good strengths have been destroyed by the vanity of the petty bourgeoisie.”
Bo Xilai (born 1949) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I have friends who are aristocrats, I have friends who are upper class, I have friends who are working-class...well, not working class.”
Rishi Sunak (born 1980) first seen 2001 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: From the BBC documentary series Middle Classes - Their Rise and Sprawl (23 March 2001), as cited in "Rishi Sunak suggests he doesn’t have ‘working class’ friends in resurfaced documentary" The Independent (9 July 2022)
“It is all as it should be if they were really friends once, for friends, in fact, belong to periods rather than to all time, although sentiment would have it otherwise. One is always changing a little, although of radical change there is almost none, and new friends are found in tune with each stage.”
E. V. Lucas (1868–1938) said by 1938 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source