None are so old as those who have outlived enthusiasm.
The true and not despairing Friend will address his Friend in some such terms as these. "I never asked thy leave to let me love thee,--I have a right. I love thee not as something private and personal, which is your own, but as something universal and worthy of love, which I have found. O, how I think of you! You are purely good, --you are infinitely good. I can trust you forever. I did not think that humanity was so rich. Give me an opportunity to live.
Interpretation
What this quote means
True friendship is based on a deep, intrinsic respect and admiration for the other person's universal qualities, rather than merely personal attachment.
In this quote, Thoreau expresses the essence of genuine friendship that transcends mere personal connections. A true friend loves not only the individual but also the goodness and richness they represent in humanity. The speaker emphasizes the importance of trust and recognition of the inherent value in a friend, suggesting that this love is both a right and a profound connection, capable of elevating one's existence.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about the importance of friendship, this quote can highlight the universality of love.
More from Henry David Thoreau
All quotes →Through want of enterprise and faith men are where they are, buying and selling and spending their lives like servants.
An early-morning walk is a blessing for the whole day.
Have no mean hours, but be grateful for every hour, and accept what it brings. The reality will make any sincere record respectable.
As every season seems best to us in its turn, so the coming in of spring is like the creation of Cosmos out of Chaos and the realization of the Golden Age.
That grand old poem called Winter
Similar quotes
My idea of good company is the company of clever, well-informed people who have a great deal of conversation; that is what I call good company.
A generous friend gives life for a friend let's rise above this animalistic behavior and be kind to one another
No matter what kind of backgrounds two men are from, if you go, 'Hey, man, women are crazy,' you've got a friend.
We secure our friends not by accepting favors but by doing them.
A doubtful friend is worse than a certain enemy. Let a man be one thing or the other, and we then know how to meet him.
In a Ramada Inn near the grapevine, they stop to rest for the night. Traveling down south, looking for good times. Visiting old friends feels right.