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I have known the joy and pain of friendship. I have served and been served. I have made some good enemies for which I am not a bit sorry. I have loved unselfishly, and I have fondled hatred with the red-hot tongs of Hell. That's living.
Zora Neale Hurston
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Interpretation

What this quote means

The quote expresses the complexity of friendship, encompassing both joy and pain, love and hate.

Zora Neale Hurston's quote delves into the multifaceted nature of human relationships, emphasizing that true living involves experiencing both the highs and lows of friendship. It highlights the dichotomy of emotions that come with deep connections, suggesting that the intensity of love is often paired with the potential for conflict and enmity, ultimately defining the richness of life.

Themes

FriendshipLovePainJoyRelationships

In practice

Example use cases

This quote can be used in a speech about the value of friendships, illustrating the dual nature of close relationships.

More from Zora Neale Hurston

It seems that fighting is a game where everybody is the loser.
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Lack of power and opportunity passes off too often for virtue.
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From barren brown stems to glistening leaf-buds; from the leaf-buds to snowy virginity of bloom…It was like a flute song forgotten in another existence and remembered again. What? How? Why? This singing she heard that had nothing to do with her ears. The rose of the world was breathing out smell. It followed her through all her waking moments and caressed her in her sleep.
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Someone is always at my elbow reminding me that I am the granddaughter of slaves. It fails to register depression with me.
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Don't you realize that the sea is the home of water? All water is off on a journey unless it's in the sea, and it's homesick, and bound to make its way home someday.
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Two things everybody's got tuh do fuh theyselves. They got tuh go tuh God, and they got tuh find out about livin' fuh theyselves.
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Similar quotes

It is important to have friends we can trust. But it is essential to trust the Lord, who never lets us down.
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Always give a word or sign of salute when meeting or passing a friend, or even a stranger, if in a lonely place.
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The loss of a friend is like that of a limb; time may heal the anguish of the wound, but the loss cannot be repaired.
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Make no man your friend before inquiring how he has used his former friends; for you must expect him to treat you as he has treated them. Be slow to give your friendship, but when you have given it, strive to make it lasting; for it is as reprehensible to make many changes in one's associates as to have no friends at all. Neither test your friends to your own injury nor be willing to forego a test of your companions.
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There is nothing I would not do for those who are really my friends. I have no notion of loving people by halves, it is not my nature.
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