When friendship disappears then there is a space left open to that awful loneliness of the outside world which is like the cold space between the planets. It is an air in which men perish utterly.
Hilaire BellocRead
From quiet homes and first beginning, out to the undiscovered ends, there's nothing worth the wear of winning, but laughter and the love of friends.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes that the journey of life is best valued through the joy of laughter and the companionship of friends.
Hilaire Belloc's quote reflects on the essence of life's journey, suggesting that while we may strive for achievements and experiences, the true treasures of life are found in the laughter shared and the love we receive from our friends. It indicates that amidst all endeavors and challenges, the bonds we create and the happiness we experience with loved ones are what truly enrich our lives.
In practice
During a speech about the importance of relationships at a gathering.
When friendship disappears then there is a space left open to that awful loneliness of the outside world which is like the cold space between the planets. It is an air in which men perish utterly.
It has been discovered that with a dull urban population, all formed under a mechanical system of State education, a suggestion or command, however senseless and unreasoned, will be obeyed if it be sufficiently repeated.
Write as the wind blows and command all words like an army!
An institute run with such knavish imbecility that if it were not the work of God it would not last a fortnight.
When I am dead, I hope it may be said: His sins were scarlet, but his books were read.
Every major question in history is a religious question. It has more effect in molding life than nationalism or a common language.
You remember having friends who used to lampoon the world so effortlessly, crouching at the verge of every joke and waiting to pounce on it, and you remember how they changed as they grew older and the joy of questioning everything slowly became transformed into the pain of questioning everything, like a star consuming its own core.
I'd rather trust nine people and have the 10th one stab me in the back. I'd take that fall in order to have those nine friendships or working relationships instead of having none. That's not living.
If thy friends be of better quality than thyself, thou mayest be sure of two things; first, they will be more careful to keep thy counsel, because they have more to lose than thou hast; the second, they will esteem thee for thyself, and not for that which thou dost possess.
To make a point of declaring friendship is to cheapen it. For men's emotions are very rarely put into words successfully.
I'll lift you and you lift me, and we'll both ascend together.
No human relation gives one possession in another—every two souls are absolutely different. In friendship or in love, the two side by side raise hands together to find what one cannot reach alone.
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