Conceal a flaw, and the world will imagine the worst.
MartialRead
Service cannot be expected from a friend in service; let him be a freeman who wishes to be my master.
Interpretation
What this quote means
True friendship does not involve obligation or servitude; genuine relationships are based on freedom and mutual respect.
In this quote, Martial emphasizes that friendship should be free of expectations and obligations. A true friend acts out of goodwill, not because they are obliged to serve or obey; thus, relationships founded on freedom rather than domination or servitude are essential for authenticity and respect.
Themes
FriendshipServiceFreedomRespectObligation
In practice
Example use cases
Using this quote in a speech about the nature of true friendships at a gathering.
More from Martial
All quotes βLife is not merely to be alive, but to be well.
MartialRead
To the ashes of the dead glory comes too late.
MartialRead
Life's not just about being alive, but being well.
MartialRead
My poems are naughty, but my life is pure.
MartialRead
Neither fear your death's day nor long for it.
MartialRead
Similar quotes
Nothing makes the earth seem so spacious as to have friends at a distance; they make the latitudes and longitudes.
Henry David ThoreauRead
You have to work hard at staying in contact with your friends so that the relationships will continue and live on... Friendships, along with love, make life worth living.
Mike KrzyzewskiRead
In life you throw a ball. You hope it will reach a wall and bounce back so you can throw it again. You hope your friends will provide that wall.
Pablo PicassoRead
When I turned 40, I invited Johnny Cash to my party, even though I knew there was gonna be 200 people roasting a pig and wild as can be. He didn't come, but the next day, I got a bowl of chili he'd made and a note that said, 'John, I'd love to come to your party, but that would mean I would have to leave my house.'
John PrineRead
No degree of knowledge attainable by man is able to set him above the want of hourly assistance, or to extinguish the desire of fond endearments and tender officiousness; and, therefore, no one should think it unnecessary to learn those arts by which friendship may be gained.
Samuel JohnsonRead
A light has dawned for me: I need companions, living ones, not dead companions and corpses which I carry with me wherever I wish. But I need living companions who follow me because they want to follow themselves- and who want to go where I want to go.
Friedrich NietzscheRead