Friendship
‹ 6 · Outline · 8 ›
7.Betrayal, quarrel and the ending of friendship
7a.Betrayal of a trusting friend
See also: Love 7b · Emotion 9c · Truth 9b · Hypocrisy 4b
Aeschylus, Prometheus BoundVol. 8
- p. 171Prometheus laments that tyranny inherently never trusts its friends; Zeus repays his ally's aid with punishment, and he expects eventual reconciliation in friendship and peace.read · scan
The Book of JobVol. 44
- p. 97–98Denouncing friends for gain is condemned as a betrayal whose penalty falls on the betrayer's children.read · scan
The Book of PsalmsVol. 44
- p. 193–194Betrayal by a familiar friend, trusted and sharing his bread, who lifts his heel against him; false visitors speak falsehood in sickness.read · scan
- p. 208Betrayal by a close companion and familiar friend, with whom he took sweet counsel, is more painful than an enemy's hostility; the friend's smooth words hid war.read · scan
Sophocles, Oedipus the KingVol. 8
- p. 218Oedipus voices betrayal: Creon, faithful and his earliest friend, is suspected of secretly plotting to unseat him, showing friendship's strain through suspected treachery.read · scan
- p. 225Oedipus asserts that injuring a friend and going unpunished is unwise; he treats Creon's supposed betrayal of friendship as an offence deserving retribution.read · scan
- p. 225Oedipus accuses Creon of being a false friend; Creon argues that thrusting out a loyal friend is like losing one's own life, and that time proves the righteous.read · scan
Marcus Tullius Cicero, Letters of CiceroVol. 9
- p. 90–94Hortensius, despite affection and daily intimacy, treacherously betrayed Cicero; he judges who is truly attached (Messalla) or only pretending (Pompey), advising caution.read · scan
Virgil, The AeneidVol. 13
- p. 128Polydore's ghost appeals to Aeneas as 'unhappy friend' and kindred; his murder by the host who betrayed Priam's trust shows betrayal of hospitality and faith for gold.read · scan
- p. 167Anna reproaches dying Dido for excluding her sister and friend from her death, saying she would have shared one sword and tomb: loyalty and betrayal by exclusion.read · scan
Plutarch, ThemistoclesVol. 12
- p. 22–23Timocreon's verses accuse Themistocles of abandoning his guest and friend for money, a betrayal of friendship.read · scan
- p. 23–24Timocreon reviles Themistocles as a traitor who took bribes and neglected to restore his friend and guest-friend, showing betrayal of friendship for money.read · scan
Plutarch, PericlesVol. 12
- p. 46Plutarch rejects the charge that Pericles treacherously murdered Ephialtes, his friend and political ally, as incompatible with a noble spirit.read · scan
Plutarch, AlcibiadesVol. 12
- p. 114Alcibiades betrays his friend Diomedes by buying the Argive chariot for him and then claiming it as his own, an injustice that provokes the friend's rage.read · scan
Plutarch, CiceroVol. 12
- p. 243–244Pompey, ashamed of Cicero's past services, abandons him in his hour of need at Caesar's instance, avoiding the interview: friendship betrayed and set aside for advantage; Cicero then turns to friends for counsel and escort.read · scan
- p. 256–257Caesar abandons Cicero to proscription in a bargain trading away friends and kin; Cicero and Quintus console each other and part in tears, showing betrayal and fellowship in misfortune.read · scan
Plutarch, CaesarVol. 12
- p. 293Labienus, one of Caesar's nearest friends and lieutenant in the Gallic wars, deserts him for Pompey; Caesar responds by sending his money and baggage after him, showing betrayal answered with magnanimity.read · scan
- p. 315–316Decimus Brutus, whom Caesar trusted and made second heir, deceitfully leads him by the hand to his death: betrayal of a trusting friend.read · scan
Plutarch, AntonyVol. 12
- p. 335–336Triumvirs trade friends' and kinsmen's lives for their enemies' deaths; hatred outweighs affection for friends, a betrayal of friendship; the sister's defiant rescue of her brother contrasts.read · scan
- p. 370Antony generously sends Domitius's friends and goods after his desertion, answering betrayal with magnanimity; desertions of allies mark his decline.read · scan
BeowulfVol. 49
- p. 59Shows how a peace pledge and oaths between peoples can be broken by old grievances and taunts, betraying trust and loyalty.read · scan
- p. 61Beowulf doubts the Heathobards' faith and lasting love toward the Danes, distrusting a pact of peace.read · scan
- p. 82–84Wiglaf reproaches the retainers who failed their king in his need, saying death is better than a life of shame; treats disloyalty and desertion.read · scan
Songs from the Elder EddaVol. 49
- p. 361–363Odin's strife-runes are said to set friends and kindred against each other; Dag's killing of his brother-in-law Helgi shows betrayal and broken oaths among kin.read · scan
- p. 400–403Gudrun bitterly likens the killers of Sigurd to wolf and raven 'friends together', showing friendship's betrayal in the murder of a sworn kinsman.read · scan
The Story of the Volsungs and NiblungsVol. 49
- p. 327–328Dying Sigurd affirms he kept his oath of loyalty to Gunnar and was never too much a friend to his wife; betrayed by sworn brothers.read · scan
Niccolò Machiavelli, The PrinceVol. 36
- p. 30Betraying friends is condemned as a means to power that confers no glory and cannot count as merit.read · scan
Sir Thomas More, UtopiaVol. 36
- p. 215Mercenaries who were familiar friends and kin fight one another for a little more pay, forgetting friendship: friendship betrayed by covetousness.read · scan
Benvenuto Cellini, The Autobiography of Benvenuto CelliniVol. 31
- p. 24–26Cellini reproaches Giannotto for disowning their former friendship, recalling shared drawing, meals and sleep; the master rebukes the betrayal of an intimate comrade.read · scan
- p. 97Giovanni Gaddi, an intimate of Cellini's circle, carelessly ruins Raffaello's marriage proposal; a trusted intermediary betrays a friend's interest, and the fellowship of learned company is shown.read · scan
- p. 172Giorgetto betrays Cellini with false accusations after being harboured and helped, an instance of ingratitude; dear friend Luca Martini attends him by contrast.read · scan
- p. 195Cellini expects sincere friendship from Rosso, whom he had rescued and lent money, and denounces his ingratitude; betrayal of benefactor-friend.read · scan
- p. 335–336Ascanio, entrusted with Cellini's goods and reminded of benefits, gives filial protestations but proves a traitor; betrayal of trust by a dependent.read · scan
- p. 348Guido Guidi is Cellini's most faithful friend writing from France, in contrast to Ascanio and Pagolo, who deceive him and block his return.read · scan
Ambroise Paré, Journeys in Diverse PlacesVol. 38
- p. 20–21A groom, dismissed for betraying the King's plan, kills himself in despair at losing the King's good friendship; shows the grievousness of lost favour and betrayed trust.read · scan
Miguel de Cervantes, The History of Don Quixote of the Mancha, Part IVol. 14
- p. 240–241Cardenio laments Don Fernando's betrayal: a trusted friend whom he served and counseled with honest intent exploits his confidence, sends him away, and steals his beloved.read · scan
- p. 320Lothario yields to his friend's demand to avoid worse harm, while secretly resolving to deceive him; Anselmo entrusts his wife to his friend.read · scan
- p. 320–321Lothario deceives his friend about his wooing, showing loyalty strained by feigned compliance, while Anselmo trustingly leaves him alone with his wife.read · scan
- p. 322Lothario keeps lying to Anselmo, who trusts him and funds the trial; friendship is corrupted by deceit.read · scan
- p. 323Anselmo reproaches Lothario for deceiving him, breaking the affection and confidence owed; Lothario is shamed by discovery of his lie.read · scan
- p. 325Lothario's desire for Camilla assails his duty to Anselmo; he condemns himself as a bad friend and struggles between loyalty and passion.read · scan
- p. 325Camilla's beauty and Anselmo's own folly overthrow Lothario's loyalty, and he betrays his friend by soliciting his wife.read · scan
- p. 328Lothario's amity cannot stand against passion; the two become bad friends, betraying Anselmo, whose trust and opportunity he exploited.read · scan
- p. 329Lothario reports to his friend Anselmo on the trial of Camilla; Anselmo begs him to continue, so friendship is strained by a test that exploits trust.read · scan
- p. 329–331Anselmo, trusting the amity between them, dismisses any doubt of Lothario's virtue, while the narrator calls Lothario a treacherous friend.read · scan
- p. 335Lothario betrays Anselmo with a false report and cunning advice that he spy from the wardrobe.read · scan
- p. 336Anselmo praises Lothario's entire amity and follows his advice; Lothario regrets his betrayal, and Camilla calls him friend.read · scan
- p. 336–337Lothario confesses his false report to Anselmo and asks Camilla's pardon and counsel; Anselmo is deceived by his friend.read · scan
- p. 338Camilla condemns Lothario's unlawful desire as contempt of his friend Anselmo, betraying the duty of friendship.read · scan
- p. 339Camilla denounces Lothario as the most disloyal friend of a friend ever seen, naming his betrayal of Anselmo.read · scan
- p. 340Camilla marvels that a firm friend could dishonour Anselmo, and calls Lothario the falsest friend amity ever saw.read · scan
- p. 341Lothario admits the lifelong amity with Anselmo and that love has broken and violated the holy laws of true friendship; Camilla rebukes him.read · scan
- p. 344–345Anselmo embraces his 'good friend' Lothario while Lothario, knowing he wrongs him, feels the betrayal of a deceived friend.read · scan
- p. 352Citizen reports that Lothario, the great friend known with Anselmo as 'The Two Friends', has betrayed him by carrying off his wife; the amity was proverbial.read · scan
- p. 355Lothario is called the 'repentant friend'; the host-friend receives Anselmo's death, showing friendship's betrayal and loss ending in ruin.read · scan
Christopher Marlowe, Edward the SecondVol. 46
- p. 43–47Warwick's seizure of Gaveston breaks Pembroke's pledged word; Gaveston cries 'treacherous Warwick, to wrong thy friend', and James calls Pembroke Warwick's friend, showing betrayal of trust between friends.read · scan
William Shakespeare, The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of DenmarkVol. 46
- p. 132–134Hamlet conjures Rosencrantz and Guildenstern by fellowship, youth and 'ever-preserved love' to be honest; they admit being sent, exposing strained loyalty and betrayal.read · scan
- p. 157Rosencrantz appeals to Hamlet's former love and says concealing griefs from a friend bars his liberty; Hamlet resents Guildenstern's attempt to play on him, showing strained, betrayed friendship.read · scan
William Shakespeare, The Tragedy of MacbethVol. 46
- p. 352–354Macbeth admits he cannot openly destroy Banquo because of mutual friends whose loves he may not drop, so friendship's ties constrain even a tyrant.read · scan
- p. 358–360Macbeth toasts 'our dear friend Banquo, whom we miss', wishing him present; convivial fellowship shown ironically over the betrayed and murdered friend.read · scan
Philip Massinger, A New Way to Pay Old DebtsVol. 47
- p. 938–941Wellborn condemns Marrall's betrayal: one false to an unjust master will never be true to another; disloyalty of servant.read · scan
Molière, Tartuffe, or The HypocriteVol. 26
- p. 293–295Tartuffe betrays Orgon, saying duty to prince would make him sacrifice friend, wife and kindred; ingratitude and betrayal of a benefactor-friend.read · scan
Blaise Pascal, ThoughtsVol. 48
- p. 177–178Jesus, with all friends asleep, kindly leaves them to rest, and calls Judas his betrayer 'friend'; desertion and forbearing love.read · scan
John Dryden, All for Love; or, The World Well LostVol. 18
- p. 69–71Dolabella, tempted to love Cleopatra, laments 'O friendship!' as unable to withstand desire; loyalty to Antony against passion; Cleopatra notes his friend is like him.read · scan
- p. 71Dolabella is called Antony's bosom friend and chosen as his messenger, yet he tenderly lies to spare Cleopatra, showing the strain of friendship's trust against love.read · scan
- p. 71–76Dolabella confesses betraying his friend's message out of love for Cleopatra, and laments the treasure his friend Antony has thrown away; loyalty conflicts with passion.read · scan
- p. 81–84Antony denounces Dolabella for profaning the name of friend; betrayal by friend and mistress, trust abused, and friendship's limits in Dolabella's 'no more than friendship allows'.read · scan
- p. 84Antony banishes love and friendship from human breasts; he can forgive a foe but not a friend, since treason is worst where trust is greatest.read · scan
William Penn, More Fruits of SolitudeVol. 1
- p. 372–373True moral man does more than avoid betraying his friend; mere avoidance of betrayal is not virtue.read · scan
Voltaire, Letters on the EnglishVol. 34
- p. 136–138The true friend follows the captain loyally through disaster while the trusted false friend betrays him, marrying his mistress and stealing his casket; faithfulness against treachery.read · scan
Benjamin Franklin, His AutobiographyVol. 1
- p. 59–60Webb betrays Franklin's confided secret to Keimer, showing a breach of trust; friends also lament his connection with Meredith.read · scan
Richard Brinsley Sheridan, The School for ScandalVol. 18
- p. 169–170Joseph hypocritically condemns tempting 'the wife of his friend' as violating hospitality; Sir Peter trusts him as 'my dear friend' and seeks counsel, unaware of betrayal.read · scan
- p. 174–176Lady Teazle condemns Joseph as a hypocrite who would have seduced his credulous friend's wife; Joseph invokes his 'friendship to the family' falsely. Betrayal of a friend.read · scan
- p. 176–177Lady Teazle denounces Joseph as smooth-tongued hypocrite who would have seduced the wife of his too credulous friend Sir Peter; betrayal of friendship and trust.read · scan
Robert Burns, Poems and SongsVol. 6
- p. 453–455Forsaken lover's farewell to 'false friends, false love', lamenting betrayal by those trusted.read · scan
Friedrich Schiller, William TellVol. 26
- p. 406Attinghausen reproaches Rudenz for abandoning his friends and countrymen to side with their oppressors, treating desertion of one's own as a betrayal of loyalty.read · scan
Percy Bysshe Shelley, The CenciVol. 18
- p. 301Giacomo trusts Orsino as friend with what he dares tell his soul, yet withholds his thoughts; Orsino then reveals he is exploiting that confidence.read · scan
- p. 337Orsino, the false friend who betrayed Giacomo, is called 'generous friend' and thanked by the deceived Giacomo; shows betrayal of trust beneath friendship's guise.read · scan
- p. 351Song addressed to a 'false friend' whose smile and tear hide snake and poison; treats faithless friendship at the moment of parting.read · scan
Hans Christian Andersen, TalesVol. 17
- p. 325–326The Learned Man proposes intimate 'thou' as companions since childhood; the Shadow refuses equality, showing friendship betrayed and one-sided fellowship.read · scan
- p. 327–328The Shadow calls the Learned Man 'my good friend' yet demands he live as a shadow and deceive; the Learned Man refuses, showing friendship betrayed.read · scan
Charles Darwin, The Voyage of the BeagleVol. 29
- p. 232–233Jemmy Button, returned to his tribe, brings otter-skins for his best friends; York Minster betrays Jemmy and his mother, deserting and robbing them after persuading them to travel.read · scan
7b.Quarrels, rivalry and estrangement
Confucius, The Sayings of ConfuciusVol. 44
- p. 14Nagging at friends brings estrangement: excessive reproof strains and loses friendship.read · scan
Aesop, FablesVol. 17
- p. 18–19Fox and Stork, seemingly good friends, trade a mocking trick at dinner, showing friendship strained by an unkind jest.read · scan
The Book of JobVol. 44
- p. 95–97Job calls his friends miserable comforters; he would strengthen them were roles reversed, and they scoff at him.read · scan
- p. 120–121Elihu's anger at Job's three friends, who condemned Job without having an answer, shows the failure of friends' counsel.read · scan
Sophocles, Oedipus the KingVol. 8
- p. 224Creon fears the shame of being called a villain by Oedipus and his friends; the Chorus declines to judge, loyal to Oedipus yet cautious about hasty accusation.read · scan
- p. 225–228The Chorus pleads that Oedipus not shame on mere suspicion a friend bound by his own oath, appealing to loyalty and trust between friends.read · scan
Marcus Tullius Cicero, On FriendshipVol. 9
- p. 9–10Frames the dialogue on friendship; mentions the bitter quarrel of former intimates Sulpicius and Pompeius as occasion, and Cicero's intimacy with Atticus prompting the work.read · scan
- p. 21–22Scipio lists what threatens lasting friendship: rivalry for office, money, changes of character, and improper requests whose refusal breeds enmity; friendship needs wisdom and luck to survive.read · scan
Marcus Tullius Cicero, Letters of CiceroVol. 9
- p. 84Cicero reproaches Pompey for a cool letter, saying he finds satisfaction in serving friends without return and that common friendship demands candour; old enemies pose as friends.read · scan
- p. 85Cicero laments the breach between Quintus and Atticus, where others' artifices outweighed old affection; he expects reconciliation by meeting and explanation.read · scan
Virgil, The AeneidVol. 13
- p. 366Drances says Turnus thinks him no friend and proposes friendship through alliance and marriage; friendship is shown as political and strained by faction.read · scan
Luke, The Gospel According to LukeVol. 44
- p. 413Herod and Pilate become friends that day after being enemies, a friendship born of shared complicity against Jesus rather than goodwill.read · scan
Luke, The Acts of the ApostlesVol. 44
- p. 456–457Paul and Barnabas quarrel sharply over taking Mark and part company: a strain and rupture between close companions over differing judgment.read · scan
Plutarch, PericlesVol. 12
- p. 50Pericles's friendship for Phidias brings Phidias oversight of the works, envy and slander; enemies attack the friends through scandal about Menippus's wife.read · scan
- p. 67Phidias's friendship with Pericles makes him a favorite and draws the envy of enemies, who prosecute him as a trial of Pericles himself.read · scan
Plutarch, AristidesVol. 12
- p. 78–79Aristides as friend and supporter of Clisthenes; the rivalry and lasting enmity of Aristides and Themistocles, begun in boyhood and over a shared love, shows friendship's opposite.read · scan
Plutarch, CoriolanusVol. 12
- p. 173–174Envoys chosen from Marcius's kindred and old friends expect a kind reception from familiarity and friendship, but are mistaken; he receives them proudly, showing friendship failing under resentment.read · scan
Plutarch, CiceroVol. 12
- p. 241Cicero, once Clodius's friend for services in the conspiracy, testifies against him, partly to keep peace with his wife: friendship strained by other loyalties.read · scan
Plutarch, AntonyVol. 12
- p. 327–328Antony's disreputable companions influence him; his friend Dolabella's alleged intimacy with his wife breaks their friendship and turns him to hostility.read · scan
- p. 346–347Ventidius, obscure born, rose through Antony's friendship; yet he refrains from pressing his success for fear of arousing Antony's jealousy, showing strain between patron and friend.read · scan
Epictetus, The Golden Sayings of EpictetusVol. 2
- p. 141–142Wishes never to have a wise fool for a friend; obstinate friends are intractable, showing a strain in friendship.read · scan
Stories from the Thousand and One NightsVol. 16
- p. 32The envious vizier attacks the king's friendship with Duban as dangerous; the king defends his dearest companion, showing envy and counsel threatening a friendship.read · scan
The Song of RolandVol. 49
- p. 151–153Roland and Olivier quarrel over sounding the horn; Olivier blames Roland's pride, friendship strained by counsel refused, ending their loyal company.read · scan
The Story of the Volsungs and NiblungsVol. 49
- p. 352–353Gudrun recalls that in Atli's house kin fought kin and friend fought friend, contrasting the strife with her happier fellowship under Sigurd; discord among friends and kin.read · scan
Thomas à Kempis, The Imitation of ChristVol. 7
- p. 217–218Diversity of feelings and opinions often brings dissension between friends; self-interest strains fellowship.read · scan
Benvenuto Cellini, The Autobiography of Benvenuto CelliniVol. 31
- p. 154–155Cellini and Tribolo dispute their companionship on the journey: he resents Tribolo's cowardice, never coming to his aid, while Tribolo thinks him a bad travelling companion.read · scan
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Miguel de Cervantes, The History of Don Quixote of the Mancha, Part IVol. 14
- p. 159Don Quixote says his overmuch familiarity with Sancho has bred contempt, reflecting on how closeness between master and man strains due respect.read · scan
- p. 161Shared laughter between Don Quixote and Sancho, then anger and blows when Sancho mocks him, shows the strain of familiarity and jesting between companions.read · scan
- p. 205–206Cardenio's friend Fernando constantly praises Lucinda and reads their letters, rousing suspicion and jealousy; early strain in the friendship.read · scan
Francis Bacon, Essays, Civil and MoralVol. 3
- p. 81–82Suspicion is said to lose friends; it should be checked by frankly communicating it to the party suspected.read · scan
Christopher Marlowe, Edward the SecondVol. 46
- p. 33Edward welcomes Gaveston back as friend, saying absence made him pine; he defends him against the nobles' scorn, and their friendship provokes the quarrel.read · scan
- p. 35–38Kent breaks with Edward over his love of Gaveston; Edward, rejecting brother and peers, calls Gaveston one who has no friend but him and chooses to live with him.read · scan
William Shakespeare, The Tragedy of King LearVol. 46
- p. 227–228Gloucester laments that in this time of portents 'love cools, friendship falls off, brothers divide', naming the decay of friendship among broken bonds.read · scan
- p. 228–229Edmund's feigned prediction lists 'dissolutions of ancient amities' and 'banishment of friends' among disasters; he also betrays brotherly trust under a show of friendly counsel.read · scan
- p. 306Observes that in the heat of war 'the friend hath lost his friend', showing how conflict strains and severs friendship.read · scan
John Webster, The Duchess of MalfiVol. 47
- p. 762Bosola warns that to suspect a friend unjustly teaches him to suspect and deceive you in turn, a maxim on distrust eroding friendship.read · scan
Thomas Hobbes, Of Man, Being the First Part of LeviathanVol. 34
- p. 353–354Clamouring, striking and stoning one's best friends, those who protected them, is offered as the clearest sign of a multitude's madness, an ingratitude toward benefactors.read · scan
Izaak Walton, The Life of Dr. John DonneVol. 15
- p. 361–362Donne's letter to a dear friend: promises prayers, and calls the suspicion by some friends that he feigned illness an unfriendly interpretation.read · scan
Sir Thomas Browne, Religio MediciVol. 3
- p. 313Regrets his learning cannot be bequeathed to friends; holds that differences of opinion should not divide affection.read · scan
John Milton, Paradise LostVol. 4
- p. 331Prosperity and pride will turn friendship into hostility in peacetime; friendship is shown as fragile and corrupted by ease.read · scan
Blaise Pascal, ThoughtsVol. 48
- p. 45If men knew what each said of the other, there would not be four friends in the world; indiscreet tales cause quarrels.read · scan
John Dryden, All for Love; or, The World Well LostVol. 18
- p. 57–61Dolabella's friendly act in winning terms; Antony feels betrayed by his friend for bringing Octavia, yet vows gratitude; friendship strained by divided loyalties.read · scan
- p. 77Antony calls Dolabella 'my friend' when Ventidius reports his familiarity with Cleopatra; suspicion of a friend's betrayal begins.read · scan
William Penn, More Fruits of SolitudeVol. 1
- p. 388Jealousy betrays friends and neighbors and dissolves society, showing friendship's destruction by suspicion.read · scan
Benjamin Franklin, His AutobiographyVol. 1
- p. 14–15Franklin observes that disputatious habits spoil conversation and breed disgust and enmity where one may need friendship, implying that agreeable conduct preserves friendships.read · scan
- p. 33Quarrels over Collins's drinking end in the boat incident and a rupture; the friendship ends in estrangement, unpaid debt and loss.read · scan
- p. 43Franklin's friendship with Ralph ends in a breach over his advances to Ralph's partner and unpaid loans; he feels relieved of a burden in losing it.read · scan
- p. 84Notes that a benevolent man should allow himself a few faults to keep his friends in countenance, as friendship and envy interact.read · scan
- p. 103–104Observes that partners' esteem can give way to jealousies that breach friendship; clear written terms preserve amicable partnerships.read · scan
- p. 126Franklin and Governor Morris stay good-natured and dine together despite bitter public quarrels; Franklin observes that disputers win victories but never the good will that would serve them better.read · scan
Samuel Johnson, Life of Addison, 1672-1719Vol. 27
- p. 156–157Addison and Steele's friendship: Steele's reverent subjection, Addison's teasing, and the loan Addison recovered by legal execution, wounding Steele; shows inequality and strain within friendship.read · scan
- p. 157–158Addison's verses to Sacheverell showed the fondness of friendship, but friendship later proved too weak against the malignity of party faction.read · scan
- p. 173–174Introduces the quarrel of Addison and Steele, described as friends of long continuance set at variance by political dispute.read · scan
- p. 174–175Addison and Steele's long friendship ends in acrimonious political opposition; Steele keeps veneration, Addison scorns him; Johnson laments the instability of friendship.read · scan
Oliver Goldsmith, She Stoops to ConquerVol. 18
- p. 254–255Friends Hastings and Marlow quarrel over betrayed confidence and being made ridiculous; Hastings says 'It is not friendly', showing strain on loyalty and trust.read · scan
Samuel Taylor Coleridge, PoemsVol. 41
- p. 721–722Roland and Leoline, friends in youth, are parted by whispering tongues and angry words; lasting scars show how slander and pride destroy friendship.read · scan
The Declaration of IndependenceVol. 43
- p. 152–153Appeals to British brethren by ties of kindred went unheeded; the colonists resolve to hold them as enemies in war, in peace friends, showing the strain of lost kinship.read · scan
Alessandro Manzoni, I Promessi Sposi (The Betrothed)Vol. 21
- p. 529–530Plague panic dissolves trust: people mistrust even a friend or guest, and the bonds of husband, father, brother become words of terror; shows friendship's breakdown.read · scan
Ralph Waldo Emerson, NatureVol. 5
- p. 232A young person's cherished diary shown to the dearest friend meets cold indifference, provoking doubt of the friend's heart: 'Is there then no friend?' Shows friendship's strain and disappointment.read · scan
Alfred, Lord Tennyson, PoemsVol. 42
- p. 1038–1039Maud's wish that the feuding houses be friends and reconciled; her brother forbids her speaking to her childhood friend, showing friendship strained by feud.read · scan
Abraham Lincoln, Lincoln's First Inaugural AddressVol. 43
- p. 322Appeals to bonds of affection between North and South: enemies must not be made of friends; passion may strain but must not break friendship.read · scan
William Makepeace Thackeray, Jonathan SwiftVol. 28
- p. 16–17Prefers a friendly word from Goldsmith to Swift's insulting benefactions; notes Swift bullied friends and chose Pope and Bolingbroke as confidants.read · scan
James Russell Lowell, Abraham LincolnVol. 28
- p. 432Notes in passing that the unwise zeal of friends, like the treason of enemies, was turned by Lincoln to good use; friends can harm through overzealousness.read · scan
Arthur Hugh Clough, PoemsVol. 42
- p. 1119–1121Ends with two friends, long parted, reunited and finding their souls estranged; friendship's silent drift and estrangement despite past closeness.read · scan
7c.Reconciliation and the forgiving of friends
Homer, The OdysseyVol. 22
- p. 331–332Zeus and Athene close the epic by having the two sides made friends again: covenant and oblivion of slain kin so they may love one another as of old.read · scan
Aesop, FablesVol. 17
- p. 13Farmer proposes reconciliation and renewed friendship with the Serpent; the Serpent refuses, since the wrongs and grief cannot be forgotten.read · scan
The Book of JobVol. 44
- p. 140–141Job prays for his erring friends and is restored; friends and acquaintances return to eat with him and comfort him, showing reconciliation.read · scan
Marcus Tullius Cicero, On FriendshipVol. 9
- p. 35How to end friendships: let them be unstitched not torn, avoid enmity, be slow to bestow affection on unworthy people.read · scan
Marcus Tullius Cicero, Letters of CiceroVol. 9
- p. 85–86Cicero urges friends to bear each other's faults and irritability; he praises Atticus's sympathy, counsel and conversation, and says the bond will hold despite the quarrel.read · scan
- p. 122Cicero cites his old friendship with Caesar, his kindness, and the pledges given by Pompey and his brother as grounds for reconciliation and loyalty.read · scan
- p. 128Shows friends' ill-natured gladness at his quarrel with Crassus, and Pompey and Caesar urging reconciliation, which is sealed by Crassus dining at Cicero's house.read · scan
Virgil, The AeneidVol. 13
- p. 232Anchises laments civil war in which father-in-law and son-in-law, once bound by kinship and alliance, turn foes; urges them to embrace again and be foes no more.read · scan
Plutarch, CoriolanusVol. 12
- p. 171Tullus argues the Volscians should forget grudges and take back their former enemy, since his service as friend and associate outweighs past harm.read · scan
Plutarch, CiceroVol. 12
- p. 238–239Crassus, before departing, wishes to leave Cicero his friend rather than enemy and proposes supper; Cicero courteously accepts, though he mocks Vatinius's bid for friendship: reconciliation gestures.read · scan
- p. 245Pompey, reproaching himself for cowardice in deserting Cicero, reverses course and works with his friends to bring about Cicero's recall: remorse over betrayed friendship and repair.read · scan
- p. 246Cato and Cicero's dispute leaves a more reserved friendship; Crassus reconciles with Cicero to please his son; Cicero's trembling defending Milo shows anxiety for his friend.read · scan
Plutarch, CaesarVol. 12
- p. 303Caesar relieves Pompey's captured friends and offers them his own friendship, showing friendship extended across enmity as generosity toward the defeated.read · scan
Plutarch, AntonyVol. 12
- p. 344Friends of Antony and Caesar insist on reconciliation rather than probing blame, and agree to advance each other's friends to consulships, showing friendship as political loyalty.read · scan
- p. 344–345Marriage to Octavia is meant as a tie of affection that would keep Antony and Caesar in safe and happy friendship; alliance sought to secure friendship.read · scan
- p. 348Octavia pleads with Caesar's friends and brother to prevent war with her husband; reconciliation follows and they part good friends, showing friendship mediated by kinship.read · scan
Pliny the Younger, Letters of PlinyVol. 9
- p. 344Pliny intercedes with a friend for his repentant freedman, urging clemency and reminding him of past affection; shows a friend's counsel and mediation.read · scan
The Song of RolandVol. 49
- p. 153–154Turpin rebukes the quarrelling comrades and reconciles them to act together; Naimes exposes Ganelon's betrayal of Roland to the king.read · scan
The Story of the Volsungs and NiblungsVol. 49
- p. 303–305Brynhild's counsel to Sigurd: be kindly to friend and kin, do not requite their trespasses, bear and forbear to win lasting praise.read · scan
Jean Froissart, The Chronicles of FroissartVol. 35
- p. 55–56The Prince consoles the captive French king, promising honour and amity so that the two kings shall ever be friends after; reconciliation and courtesy.read · scan
Benvenuto Cellini, The Autobiography of Benvenuto CelliniVol. 31
- p. 26–27After a quarrel over wages, Cellini and his former master Firenzuola are reconciled and become friends; he stands godfather to Firenzuola's child.read · scan
- p. 213Ascanio, though dismissed, writes begging pardon and vows never to abandon Cellini; shows loyalty after wrongdoing, while Michele's enmity follows his friendship with Jeronimo.read · scan
Richard Edwardes, Amantium IraeVol. 40
- p. 201–202Refrain that quarrels between faithful friends renew love; discord and reconciliation shown as part of friendship's nature.read · scan
- p. 202Claims people are never friends in deed until they fall out; false courtesies contrasted with tested friendship, ending in renewed love.read · scan
Francis Bacon, Essays, Civil and MoralVol. 3
- p. 15Cosmus's saying that scripture commands forgiving enemies but never friends; Bacon tempers it, suggesting wrongs from perfidious or neglectful friends should be borne as we bear God's evils.read · scan
William Shakespeare, Songs and SonnetsVol. 40
- p. 279–280Speaker begs forgiveness for straying, vows to test no newer loves against an older friend; constancy and return after betrayal.read · scan
Thomas Dekker, The Shoemaker's HolidayVol. 47
- p. 532The King reconciles Lincoln, Oateley and the lovers, bidding them shake hands as friends: 'Where there is much love, all discord ends.'read · scan
Ben Jonson, The AlchemistVol. 47
- p. 543–549Confederates quarrel and reconcile, pledging to work 'close and friendly'; the bond between rogues is renewed by shaking hands, the knot stronger for the breach.read · scan
John Bunyan, The Pilgrim's ProgressVol. 15
- p. 115–116Lost companions ask and grant forgiveness; Christian takes the lead in danger to protect Hopeful, and Hopeful gently refuses: loyalty, forgiveness and mutual care in distress.read · scan
John Dryden, All for Love; or, The World Well LostVol. 18
- p. 29Antony begs forgiveness for wrongly suspecting Ventidius of betrayal; the sincere friend who dared speak the truth is reconciled, Antony saying only he truly loves him while others flattered.read · scan
Benjamin Franklin, His AutobiographyVol. 1
- p. 48–49Franklin still loves Ralph despite his debts and betrayal, because of his amiable qualities; friendship persists through injury.read · scan
Samuel Johnson, Life of Addison, 1672-1719Vol. 27
- p. 164–165Steele's treatment of Sir Roger provoked his friend Addison's indignation, and Steele appeased him by a promise; friendship shown through shared creative stake.read · scan
- p. 175–176Biographer's candor is restrained by sparing a widow, brother or friend pain; Addison's deathbed summons of Gay to confess an injury and make amends, and Tickell's elegy on his friend.read · scan
John Woolman, The Journal of John WoolmanVol. 1
- p. 228Woolman seeks out a Friend who had grown shy toward him and reconciles with him in a frank private conference; also notes near fellowship with brethren.read · scan
- p. 302–303The Friend who opposed Woolman's service confesses his error and avows unity; reconciliation and sympathy among brethren restore fellowship.read · scan
Oliver Goldsmith, She Stoops to ConquerVol. 18
- p. 255–257Marlow asks pardon of Hastings for his temper; Hardcastle hopes the union will make the families' personal friendships hereditary.read · scan
- p. 261–262Tony rebukes Hastings for fickle name-calling then 'dear friend'; describes kissing and being friends after a quarrel, showing reconciliation and gratitude between friends.read · scan
Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, Minna von Barnhelm, or The Soldier's FortuneVol. 26
- p. 339–340Tellheim promises Werner he will be the first to borrow from him, reconciling by handshake; Werner remarks that young friendship is warm.read · scan
- p. 374Tellheim reconciles with Werner after quarrel; both prize a trusty friend. Shows loyalty, forgiveness of offence, and friendship's value alongside marriage.read · scan
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, EgmontVol. 19
- p. 322–323Clara asks Brackenburg's forgiveness, calls him brother and friend, and charges him to support her mother, showing loyal affection beyond unreturned love.read · scan
Friedrich Schiller, William TellVol. 26
- p. 461–462Rudenz and Melchthal clasp hands to reconcile noble and peasant; pledged mutual defence, each strengthened by the other, forms a bond of fellowship and trust.read · scan
Samuel Taylor Coleridge, PoemsVol. 41
- p. 722–723Leoline repents his quarrel and admits he never found another friend like Roland, showing the loss of a friend and the wish for reconciliation.read · scan
Ralph Waldo Emerson, CharacterVol. 5
- p. 190The noble friend forgets offense and burdens you with blessings; true friends' praise is trusted, while guarded respect from friends signals something greater.read · scan
Ralph Waldo Emerson, BeautyVol. 5
- p. 300–301We measure our friends by their best moments, overlooking intervals of folly and awaiting the reappearance of their genius; a charitable standard in friendship.read · scan
Ralph Waldo Emerson, English TraitsVol. 5
- p. 354Englishmen fight fairly, then shake hands and remain friends for life; reconciliation after open combat shows a bluntly loyal friendship.read · scan
Hans Christian Andersen, TalesVol. 17
- p. 321–322The Learned Man greets his returned Shadow as 'old friend' and warmly forgives any debt, showing generous loyalty toward a former companion.read · scan
Robert Browning, A Blot in the 'ScutcheonVol. 18
- p. 392–399Tresham, bearing the slain Mertoun, says they will be friends when they next meet in death, reconciling enemies.read · scan
- p. 402Mildred's dying gesture reconciles her brother with her lover, called her friend; Tresham's rift with him ends in forgiveness and joined hands of friends.read · scan
Robert Louis Stevenson, Truth of IntercourseVol. 28
- p. 278Explaining a misunderstanding or fault to an angry friend is delicate and perilous, requiring great tact; friends are easily offended.read · scan
- p. 279Looks and gestures resolve misunderstandings between friends better than letters; a near quarrel by letter dissolved in person; absence breaks intimacy, though those bent on perpetuity can resume.read · scan
- p. 282Silence can make one a disloyal friend; reconciling estranged friends requires discretion to convey truth; falsity toward sentiment destroys loves.read · scan
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