One of the most mawkish of human delusions is the notion that friendship should be eternal, or, at all events, life-long, and that any act which puts a term to it is somehow discreditable.
Interpretation
Friendship is often seen as a lifelong commitment, but it's a misconception that every friendship must last forever.
H. L. Mencken's quote challenges the romanticized view of friendship as something that must be eternal or life-long. He suggests that it is a human delusion to think of friendships in such a rigid way, and that ending a friendship should not be seen as a discreditable act, but rather a natural part of life that can happen for various reasons.
In practice
In a speech about the evolution of friendships over time.
I know a good many men of great learning-that is, men born with an extraordinary eagerness and capacity to acquire knowledge. One and all, they tell me that they can't recall learning anything of any value in school. All that schoolmasters managed to accomplish with them was to test and determine the amount of knowledge that they had already acquired independently-and not infrequently the determination was made clumsily and inaccurately.
It takes a long while for a naturally trustful person to reconcile himself to the idea that after all God will not help him
It is the theory of all modern civilized governments that they protect and foster the liberty of the citizen; it is the practice of all of them to limit its exercise, and sometimes very narrowly.
The central belief of every moron is that he is the victim of a mysterious conspiracy against his common rights and true deserts.
The cure for the evils of democracy is more democracy.
It is my conviction that no normal man ever fell in love, within the ordinary meaning of the term, after the age of thirty.
The story, from beginning to end, I found again in a heart of a friend.
A visitor is a friend, he brings news, good or bad, which is bread to the hungry minds in lonely places. A real friend who comes to the house is a heavenly messenger, who brings the panis angelorum.
But listen to me first and swear an oath to use all your eloquence and strength to look after me and protect me.
And the days went by like paper in the wind. Everything changed, then changed again. It's hard to find a friend. It's hard to find a friend.
Strange children should smile at each other and say, "Let's play.
Cultivate solitude and quiet and a few sincere friends, rather than mob merriment, noise and thousands of nodding acquaintances.
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