Evaluating friendship
A TEACHER was once approached by an agitated student, who disclosed that she just fought with a friend: “She claimed that I was backstabbing her. So, I told her that she was doing the same thing to me! She said she no longer wanted to be my friend.”
The teacher said, “You weren’t really friends—because friends do not betray each other!”
How do we evaluate friendship? Some proverbs that shed light on its true meaning:
Friendship is love with understanding.—German proverb
A needle’s eye is wide enough for two friends; the whole world is too narrow for two foes.—Persian
Don’t desert old friends for new ones.—Hindi
Friends show their love in times of trouble, not only in happiness.—Greek
It is the duty of friends to correct each other.—Latin
Nothing is as dangerous as an ignorant friend!—French
Of one person’s many friends, there are a few on whom he can rely.—Latin
One God, one wife, but many friends.—Dutch
Life is partly what we make it—and partly made by the friends we choose.—Chinese
Love your friend, despite his faults!—American
He who finds himself without friends is like a body without a soul!—Italian
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