To forgive is not to forget. The merit lies in loving in spite of the vivid knowledge that one that must be loved is not a friend. There is not merit in loving an enemy when you forget him for a friend.
Mahatma GandhiRead
Friendship that insists upon agreement on all matters is not worth the name. Friendship to be real must ever sustain the weight of honest differences, however sharp they be.
Interpretation
What this quote means
True friendship allows for honest differences of opinion and does not require total agreement.
This quote by Mahatma Gandhi emphasizes the importance of authenticity in friendships. It suggests that genuine friendships can withstand disagreements and differing viewpoints. Real bonds are based not on uniformity of thought but on the ability to engage in honest discussions and accept each other's differences, thus demonstrating true respect and understanding.
Themes
FriendshipHonestyDifferencesAgreementRespect
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about the value of diverse opinions in a group project.
More from Mahatma Gandhi
All quotes βLove never claims, it ever gives. Love ever suffers, never resents never revenges itself.
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The real test of nonviolence lies in its being brought in contact with those who have contempt for it.
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Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.
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The devotion of such titans of spirit as Lenin to an Ideal must bear fruit. The nobility of his selflessness will be an example through centuries to come, and his Ideal will reach perfection.
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Similar quotes
When I was young I asked more of people than they could give: everlasting friendship, endless feeling. Now I know to ask less of them than they can give: a straightforward companionship. And their feelings, their friendship, their generous actions seem in my eyes to be wholly miraculous: a consequence of grace alone.
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Do not desert a friend in time of need, nor forsake him nor fail him, for friendship is the support of life. Let us then bear our burdens as the Apostle has taught (cf. Gal. 6:2): for he spoke to those whom the charity of the same one body had embraced together. If friends in prosperity help friends, why do they not also in times of adversity offer their support? Let us aid by giving counsel, let us offer our best endeavors, let us sympathize with them with all our heart.
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It is only the great hearted who can be true friends. The mean and cowardly, Can never know what true friendship means.
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Jerry SpinelliRead