Friendship is the only thing in the world concerning the usefulness of which all mankind are agreed.
Marcus Tullius CiceroRead
Love is the attempt to form a friendship inspired by beauty.
Interpretation
Love is about creating a deep connection based on appreciation for beauty.
This quote by Cicero suggests that love is not just a romantic feeling but stems from a friendship that is cultivated through admiration of beauty, whether it be physical, intellectual, or emotional. It implies that at the heart of love lies a foundation of companionship and mutual respect, inspired by the beauty one sees in another person.
In practice
This quote can be used in a wedding speech to highlight the importance of both love and friendship in a relationship.
Friendship is the only thing in the world concerning the usefulness of which all mankind are agreed.
Those wars are unjust which are undertaken without provocation. For only a war waged for revenge or defence can actually be just.
Orators are most vehement when their cause is weak.
Nothing contributes to the entertainment of the reader more, than the change of times and the vicissitudes of fortune.
No one has the right to be sorry for himself for a misfortune that strikes everyone.
Advice in old age is foolish; for what can be more absurd than to increase our provisions for the road the nearer we approach to our journey's end.
...She'd gone past interest, swung into attraction, burst through lust, tripped over affection, and was now skidding out of control into love.
My husband has quite simply been my strength and stay all these years, and I owe him a debt greater than he would ever claim.
If you have ever gone into the woods with me, I must love you very much.
There is no mistaking a real book when one meets it. It is like falling in love.
God is love. I don't say the heart doesn't feel a taste of it, but what a taste. The smallest glass of love mixed with a pint pot of ditch-water. We wouldn't recognize that love. It might even look like hate. It would be enough to scare us - God's love.
I'll be excited when I get my heart broken properly for the first time. I'll be like, 'Thank God I've experienced something. Someone wanted to kiss me.' That's when it's going to be interesting: When you break up, they're taking a piece with them.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.