“One is so apt to think of people's affection as a fixed quantity, instead of a sort of moving se with the tide always going out or coming in but still fundamentally there: and I believe this difficulty in making allowance for the tide is the reason for half the broken friendships.”

“One problem with capitalism is that it can create an envious attitude toward one's peers. It can hurt friendships seriously, and that's particularly true in New York. It's a kind of functional paranoia. ... That's the downside of our free and open system.”

“[Milano said she was at first intimidated because Doherty and Combs had an established friendship.] I knew they were friends, and I was a little freaked out, ... But as soon as I got to the set, I was like, 'This is going to be so much fun.'”

“In my public service, I treasure my friendship with law enforcement officers. I admire what they do and support them in every aspect of their job. I have always looked upon law enforcement officers as my friends.”

“Always set high value on spontaneous kindness. He whose inclination prompts him to cultivate your friendship of his own accord will love you more than one whom you have been at pains to attach to you.”

“He hadn't seen any actual sexuality on the rodeo circuit. But he didn't deny that friendships in that very macho community were stronger than other bonds. He questioned the validity of my research but he couldn't deny that eroticism.”

“Someday many years from nowWe'll sit beside the candles glowExchanging tales about our pastAnd laughing as the memories flow And when that distant day arrivesI know it will be understoodThat friendship is the key to liveAnd we were friends and it was good.”

“Friendship should be a private pleasure, not a public boast. I loathe those braggarts who are forever trying to invest themselves with importance by calling important people by their first names in or out of print. Such first-naming for effect makes me cringe.”

...writers are a savage breed, Mr. Strike. If you want life-long friendship and selfless camaraderie, join the army and learn to kill. If you want a lifetime of temporary alliances with peers who will glory in your every failure, write novels.

Hard-covered books break up friendships. You loan a hard covered book to a friend and when he doesn’t return it you get mad at him. It makes you mean and petty. But twenty-five cent books are different.