Sense shines with a double luster when it is set in humility. An able yet humble man is a jewel worth a kingdom.
William PennRead
There can be no Friendship where there is no Freedom. Friendship loves a free Air, and will not be penned up in straight 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.
Interpretation
What this quote means
True friendship requires freedom and open communication, thriving in an environment where each individual can express themselves without constraints.
In this quote, William Penn emphasizes the importance of freedom in relationships, particularly in friendships. He suggests that genuine friendship cannot exist in a restrictive or controlling environment; rather, it flourishes in open spaces where individuals can fully express themselves. The ability to forgive and overlook minor grievances is also a hallmark of strong friendships, indicating a deep understanding and bond between friends.
Themes
FriendshipFreedomCommunicationForgivenessTrust
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about the value of friendships, one might quote this to highlight the importance of freedom in relationships.
More from William Penn
All quotes →Where thou art Obliged to speak, be sure speak the Truth: For Equivocation is half way to Lying, as Lying, the whole way to Hell.
William PennRead
Man, being made reasonable, and so a thinking creature, there is nothing more worthy of his being than the right direction and employment of his thoughts; since upon this depends both his usefulness to the public, and his own present and future benefit in all respects.
William PennRead
Do good with what thou hast, or it will do thee no good.
William PennRead
To be a man's own fool is bad enough, but the vain man is everybody's.
William PennRead
Unless virtue guide us our choice must be wrong.
William PennRead
Similar quotes
Choose your friends with caution; plan your future with purpose, and frame your life with faith.
Thomas S. MonsonRead
It is only the great hearted who can be true friends. The mean and cowardly, Can never know what true friendship means.
Charles KingsleyRead
We fought in 1974 - that was a long time ago. After 1981, we became the best of friends. By 1984, we loved each other. I am not closer to anyone else in this life than I am to Muhammad Ali. Why? We were forged by that first fight in Zaire, and our lives are indelibly linked by memories and photographs, as young men and old men.
George ForemanRead
A real friend does not pick up the bill for an addict’s drugs: he packs the friend off to rehab instead. Today, only those who speak up against Israel’s policies – who denounce the occupation, the blockade, and the war – are the nation’s true friends.
Gideon LevyRead
Hello, friends.' I've had fun with that expression to satisfy the cynics, but it comes from the heart, and I don't apologize for it. Like my dad - for whom I designed the expression during the 2002 PGA Championship, when he was suffering from Alzheimer's disease - I've never met a stranger.
Jim NantzRead
The true and not despairing Friend will address his Friend in some such terms as these. "I never asked thy leave to let me love thee,--I have a right. I love thee not as something private and personal, which is your own, but as something universal and worthy of love, which I have found. O, how I think of you! You are purely good, --you are infinitely good. I can trust you forever. I did not think that humanity was so rich. Give me an opportunity to live.
Henry David ThoreauRead