Pride is founded not on the sense of happiness, but on the sense of power.
William HazlittRead
We often choose a friend as we do a mistress - for no particular excellence in themselves, but merely from some circumstance that flatters our self-love.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Friendship is often influenced by our need for validation rather than the true qualities of the person.
In this quote, Hazlitt suggests that our choices in friendships often arise from shallow reasons that boost our self-esteem, rather than from a genuine appreciation of the other person's inherent qualities. It highlights the idea that friendships can sometimes be superficial, based more on circumstances and personal gratification than on the true excellence of character. This reflection urges us to consider the true basis of our relationships and whether they are founded in authentic connection or mere self-interest.
Themes
FriendshipSelf-LoveRelationshipsSuperficialValidation
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about the nature of friendships at a sociological seminar.
More from William Hazlitt
All quotes βThe world loves to be amused by hollow professions, to be deceived by flattering appearances, to live in a state of hallucination; and can forgive everything but the plain, downright, simple, honest truth.
William HazlittRead
Our repugnance to death increases in proportion to our consciousness of having lived in vain.
William HazlittRead
We can bear to be deprived of everything but our self-conceit.
William HazlittRead
There are few things in which we deceive ourselves more than in the esteem we profess to entertain for our firends. It is little better than a piece of quackery. The truth is, we think of them as we please, that is, as they please or displease us.
William HazlittRead
Prosperity is a great teacher; adversity is a greater. Possession pampers the mind; privation trains and strengthens it.
William HazlittRead
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Good nature is more agreeable in conversation than wit and gives a certain air to the countenance which is more amiable than beauty.
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God is not so wary as we, else He would give us no friends, lest we forget Him! The charms of the heaven in the bush are superseded, I fear, by the heaven in the hand, occasionally.
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