Taught from infancy that beauty is woman's sceptre, the mind shapes itself to the body, and roaming round its gilt cage, only seeks to adorn its prison.
Mary WollstonecraftRead
Friendship is a serious affection; the most sublime of all affections, because it is founded on principle, and cemented by time.
Interpretation
Friendship is a deep and lasting bond built on shared values and experiences.
Mary Wollstonecraft emphasizes that true friendship transcends mere companionship; it is a profound connection that is rooted in shared principles and nurtured over time. This suggests that the strongest friendships are those that are not only emotional but also wise and intentional, ultimately leading to a more meaningful and enduring relationship.
In practice
In a speech about the importance of relationships, one might quote this to emphasize the depth of true friendship.
Taught from infancy that beauty is woman's sceptre, the mind shapes itself to the body, and roaming round its gilt cage, only seeks to adorn its prison.
Make women rational creatures, and free citizens, and they will quickly become good wives; - that is, if men do not neglect the duties of husbands and fathers.
But what a weak barrier is truth when it stands in the way of an hypothesis!
The divine right of husbands, like the divine right of kings, may, it is hoped, in this enlightened age, be contested without danger.
Women are degraded by the propensity to enjoy the present moment, and, at last, despise the freedom which they have not sufficient virtue to struggle to attain.
Perhaps the seeds of false-refinement, immorality, and vanity, have ever been shed by the great. Weak, artificial beings, raised above the common wants and defections of their race, in a premature and unnatural manner, undermine the very foundation of virtue, and spread corruption through the whole mass of society!
A noble person attracts noble people, and knows how to hold on to them.
I get by with a little help from my friends.
The great motherhood friendships are the ones in which two women can admit [how difficult mothering is] quietly to each other, over cups of tea at a table sticky with spilled apple juice and littered with markers without tops.
Few friendships would survive if each one knew what his friend says of him behind his back.
I had friends. The idea of being forever separated from them and from all their troubles is one of the greatest sorrows that I suffer in dying. Let them at least know that to my latest moment I thought of them.
A good friend will always stab you in the front.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.