As honour, love, obedience, troops of friends, / I must not look to have; but, in their stead, / Curses, not loud but deep, mouth-honour, breath, / Which the poor heart would fain deny, and dare not" (5.3.25-28).
William ShakespeareRead
Those friends thou hast, and their adoption tried, Grapple them to thy soul with hoops of steel; But do not dull thy palm with entertainment Of each new-hatch'd, unfledg'd comrade.
Interpretation
Value and hold close to your true friends while being wary of new acquaintances.
This quote from Shakespeare emphasizes the importance of true friendship and loyalty. It suggests that while one should cherish and strengthen bonds with established friends, they must also be cautious and discerning about new relationships, as not every new acquaintance deserves your emotional investment.
In practice
During a speech about the value of lifelong friendships.
As honour, love, obedience, troops of friends, / I must not look to have; but, in their stead, / Curses, not loud but deep, mouth-honour, breath, / Which the poor heart would fain deny, and dare not" (5.3.25-28).
Love bears it out even to the edge of doom.
Good company, good wine, good welcome, can make good people.
Absence doth sharpen love, presence strengthens it; the one brings fuel, the other blows it till it burns clear.
Lord, Lord, how this world is given to lying!
Give it an understanding, but no tongue.
To find one real friend in a lifetime is good fortune; to keep him is a blessing.
I thought it very touching to see these two women, coarse and shabby and beaten, so united; to see what they could be to one another; to see how they felt for one another, how the heart of each to each was softened by the hard trials of their lives. I think the best side of such people is almost hidden from us. What the poor are to the poor is little known, excepting to themselves and God.
All we can do is to make the best of our friends, love and cherish what is good in them, and keep out of the way what is bad.
Just remember, some come, some go. The ones that stay with you through everything - they're your true best friends. Don't let go of them.
Golf camaraderie, like that of astronauts and Antarctic explorers, is based on a common experience of transcendence; fat or thin, scratch or duffer, we have been somerwhere together where non-golfers never go.
Don't hang out with a bunch of people who drag you down when you can hang out with one person who makes you feel good.
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