A drop of honey will catch more flies than a gallon of gall. So with men. If you would win a man to your cause, first convince him that you are his sincere friend.
A friend to all is a friend to none
Such friendship requires time and familiarity; as the proverb says, men cannot know each other till they have "eaten salt together"; nor, can they admit each other to friendship or be friends till each has been found lovable and been trusted by each..
There is a norm that friends exchange favors and requests, in a way that evens out over the long run. Friends who ask too much undermine the friendship.
There is a norm that friends spend time together.
Did you never see little dogs caressing and playing with one another, so that you might say there is nothing more friendly? but, that you may know what friendship is, throw a bit of flesh among them, and you will learn.
No love, no friendship can cross the path of our destiny without leaving some mark on it forever.
Be courteous to all, but intimate with few, and let those few be well tried before you give them your confidence. True friendship is a plant of slow growth, and must undergo and withstand the shocks of adversity before it is entitled to the appellation.
A friend you have to buy won't be worth what you pay for him.
One who looks for a friend without faults will have none.
Whom the gods would destroy, they first make mad.
We cannot tell the precise moment when a friendship is formed. As in filling a vessel drop by drop, there is at last a drop which makes it run over;
When the character of a man is not clear to you, look at his friends.
In prosperity our friends know us; in adversity we know our friends.
You shall judge of a man by his foes as well as by his friends.
Grief can take care of itself, but to get the full value of a joy you must have somebody to divide it with.
The holy passion of friendship is of so sweet, steady, loyal and enduring a nature that it will last through a whole lifetime, if not asked to lend money.
Tell me what company you keep, and I'll tell you what you are.
A man cannot be too careful in the choice of his enemies.
He was easy to talk to, and easy not to talk to---equally important qualities in a friend. Essential in a travel companion.
I was on the verge of losing it, right on the verge. Then I saw that Johnson and Woodell were already losing it, and I realized that I couldn't afford to. Like Penny, they beat me to the panic attack punch.
The bond that links your true family is not one of blood, but of respect and joy in each other's life.
But I guess I can't find lasting friends when I'm an unlasting one myself.
Zak: Carl, You are my best friend. And... and you are my family. Carl: Well, that's it. Friends are the family you choose.
A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out.
Aristotle outlined two kinds of common friendships that are more accidental than intentional. The first is a friendship of utility. In this kind of relationship, the two parties are not in it for the affection of one another, but more so because each party receives a benefit in exchange. It’s not permanent in nature, and whenever the benefit ends, so does the relationship that brought the parties together. Aristotle observed this to be more common in older folks. An example of this would be a business or a work relationship. You may enjoy the time you spend together, but once the situation changes, so does the nature of your connection.
It makes sense. At the end of the day, the bonds we forge with those close to us directly shape the quality of our lives. We are, and we live through, the people we spend time with. For most things, life is long enough. It is, however, too short for the wrong kinds of friendship.
Similarly, the second kind of accidental friendship is one based on pleasure. This one, however, is more common in people that are younger. It’s the kind of relationship frequently seen among college friends or people who participate on the same sports team. The source of such a friendship is more emotional, and it’s often the most short-lived of the relationships. It’s fine for as long as the two parties gain enjoyment through a mutual interest in something external, but it ends as soon as either tastes or preferences change.
Rather than utility or pleasure, this kind of relationship is based on a mutual appreciation of the virtues that the other party holds dear. It’s the people themselves and the qualities that they represent that provides the incentive for the two parties to be in each other’s lives. Rather than being short-lived, such a relationship often lasts until the end, and there is quite generally a base level of goodness required in each person for it to exist in the first place.