Theme

Philosophy quotes about friendship

Friendship appears in this archive as a live philosophical concern—not a slogan. These verified English passages show how thinkers treat friendship as a problem of judgment, practice, or explanation.

Why this theme matters

Across 4 recurring voices here (notably Aristotle and Epicurus), friendship is framed through Peripatetic School and Stoicism. Some passages define friendship; others warn how it fails; still others relocate it inside habit, community, or language.

In the history of philosophy

Discussions of friendship travel through Greek and modern European traditions. Compare the quotations below with their school labels rather than forcing a single definition.

Thinkers in this collection

Aristotle , Epicurus , Seneca , Boethius , Confucius , Cicero

Frequently asked questions

What did philosophers say about friendship?

They disagreed in productive ways. In this archive, Aristotle, Epicurus, and related voices treat friendship as something to clarify, cultivate, or critique—not merely to celebrate.

Where can I find philosophy quotes about friendship?

This theme page gathers 9 verified English quotations tagged Friendship, with links to thinkers and sources.

How should I read quotes about friendship?

Read the sentence, then check school and source. A compact line is an entry point into an argument about friendship, not a substitute for the surrounding text.

  1. A friend is another self.
  2. Of all that wisdom provides for the happiness of a whole life, by far the greatest is the possession of friendship.
  3. If you wish to be loved, love.
  4. In the bitterest turns of fortune, true friends are proved.
  5. The Master said: Is it not a pleasure to learn and to practice what one has learned in due time? Is it not a joy to have friends come from afar? Is it not the mark of a gentleman to remain unresentful when others fail to appreciate one?
  6. It is perhaps also strange to make the happy person a solitary.
  7. After this we should speak of friendship; for it is a kind of virtue, or involves virtue.
  8. Friendship cannot exist except among the good.
  9. Perfect friendship is the friendship of those who are good and alike in virtue.