Friend of my bosom, thou more than a brother, Why wert thou not born in my father's dwelling?
Interpretation
This quote expresses a deep bond between friends, emphasizing the closeness that can sometimes surpass familial ties.
In this quote by Charles Lamb, the speaker reflects on the profound connection they feel with their friend, comparing that friendship to a sibling relationship. The phrase suggests a sense of longing, as the speaker wonders why their friend was not born into their family, indicating that the bond they share is so strong that it feels as if they should be relatives.
In practice
During a toast at a wedding, you might express how grateful you are for a friendship that feels like family.
Thus, when the lamp that lighted The traveller at first goes out, He feels awhile benighted, And looks around in fear and doubt. But soon, the prospect clearing, By cloudless starlight on he treads, And thinks no lamp so cheering As that light which Heaven sheds.
As down in the sunless retreats of the ocean Sweet flowers are springing no mortal can see, So deep in my soul the still prayer of devotion, Unheard by the world, rises silent to Thee. As still to the star of its worship, though clouded, The needle points faithfully o'er the dim sea, So dark when I roam in this wintry world shrouded, The hope of my spirit turns trembling to Thee.
The most mortifying infirmity in human nature, to feel in ourselves, or to contemplate in another, is perhaps cowardice.
Oh, ever thus, from childhood's hour, I 've seen my fondest hopes decay; I never loved a tree or flower But 't was the first to fade away. I never nurs'd a dear gazelle, To glad me with its soft black eye, But when it came to know me well And love me, it was sure to die.
May my last breath be drawn through a pipe, and exhaled in a jest.
A pun is not bound by the laws which limit nicer wit. It is a pistol let off at the ear; not a feather to tickle the intellect.
That is the remarkable thing about drinking: it brings people together so quickly, but between night and morning it sets an interval again of years.
No degree of knowledge attainable by man is able to set him above the want of hourly assistance, or to extinguish the desire of fond endearments and tender officiousness; and, therefore, no one should think it unnecessary to learn those arts by which friendship may be gained.
A friend is a person with whom I may be sincere. Before him I may think aloud.
We are all good friends. Friendship is what endures. Shared ideals, respect for the whole character of a human being.
We spoke of how to say good-bye,β Jem said. βWhen Jonathan bid farewell to David, he said, βGo in peace, for as much as we have sworn, both of us, saying the Lord be between me and thee, forever.β They did not see each other again, but they did not forget. So it will be with us. When I am Brother Zachariah, when I no longer see the world with my human eyes, I will still be in some part the Jem you knew, and I will see you with the eyes of my heart.
Where there are friends there is wealth.
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