To feed men and not to love them is to treat them as if they were barnyard cattle. To love them and not respect them is to treat them as if they were household pets.
MenciusRead
Friends are the siblings God never gave us.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Friends can be as close as family, filling the emotional bonds we sometimes miss.
Mencius suggests that friendships are vital and can resemble sibling relationships, providing love, support, and camaraderie that one might not experience with biological relatives. The quote emphasizes the importance of chosen connections in our lives, highlighting how friends can fulfill fundamental emotional needs and serve as a surrogate family.
Themes
FriendsFamilyRelationshipsSupportLove
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about the importance of community, one might say, 'Friends are the siblings God never gave us.'
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Truth uttered before its time is dangerous.
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Similar quotes
A man will speedily sit down and sympathize with a friend's griefs, but if he sees him honored and esteemed, he is apt to regard him as a rival and does not so readily rejoice with him. This ought not to be; without effort, we ought to be happy in our brother's happiness.
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Sometimes being a friend means mastering the art of timing. There is a time for silence. A time to let go and allow people to hurl themselves into their own destiny. And a time to prepare to pick up the pieces when it's all over.
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Friendship marks a life even more deeply than love. Love risks degenerating into obsession, friendship is never anything but sharing.
Elie WieselRead
Ah, Harry, how often this happens, even between the best of friends! Each of us believes that what he has to say is much more important than anything the other might have to contribute!
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In meeting again after a separation, acquaintances ask after our outward life, friends after our inner life.
Marie Von Ebner-EschenbachRead
To find one real friend in a lifetime is good fortune; to keep him is a blessing.
Baltasar GracianRead