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.
My friendship with Mitzi was like the friendship that many children have with their pets. My mother and father thought it was "good for me" to have a dog for a companion. Well it was good for me, but it was only many years after she died that I began to understand how good it was, and why.
Go up close to your friend, but do not go over to him! We should also respect the enemy in our friend.
When brothers agree, no fortress is so strong as their common life.
Nothing is more dangerous than a friend without discretion; even a prudent enemy is preferable.
To avoid being mistaken for a sellout, I chose my friends carefully. The more politically active black students. The foreign students. The Chicanos. The Marxist professors and structural feminists and punk-rock performance poets.
Perhaps the most delightful friendships are those in which there is much agreement, much disputation, and yet more personal liking.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.