Prosperity brings Friends, Adversity tries Them
Prosperity brings Friends, Adversity tries Them
It is natural that prosperity should attract friendship, or at least the semblance of friendship. The friends of a prosperous man derive many obvious advantages from their connection with him. If their rich friend is hospitable, he invites all who have the privilege of knowing him to pleasant entertainments in his fine house and beautiful grounds.
At these social gatherings a large number of agreeable and clever persons assemble, determined to do what they can to repay their host’s hospitality and secure for themselves future invitations by promoting the general cheerful ness. The rich man has also many opportunities of conferring more material benefits on his friends.
When they are poor, he can relieve their necessities by supplying them with money or helping them to obtain lucrative appointments.
Also from a feel ing of vanity most men take a great deal of pleasure in being seen frequently in the company of the rich and powerful. Thus there are many motives by which men are urged to cultivate the friend ship of the prosperous.
But when the rich man loses his wealth, or the powerful man is deprived of his power, all the friends, who were attracted only by considerations of self-interest, fall away.
They did not love the man himself, but his riches, his hospitality, and the favours he could confer on those who pleased him.
Therefore when, owing to a change of fortune, he loses the power of conferring benefits, and is himself in need of the help of others, they leave him and seek more profitable friendships. By their conduct they show that they were not real friends, but only pretenders to the name.
The true friend is constant in evil as in good fortune, and remains faithful until death. Thus it is that friendship is tried by adversity, as gold is tried by fire: and it is one of the knowing that those who cultivate our friendship are not self-seekers, acting with an eye to their own advantage, but true
It is natural that prosperity should attract friendship, or at least the semblance of friendship. The friends of a prosperous man derive many obvious advantages from their connection with him. If their rich friend is hospitable, he invites all who have the privilege of knowing him to pleasant entertainments in his fine house and beautiful grounds.
At these social gatherings a large number of agreeable and clever persons assemble, determined to do what they can to repay their host’s hospitality and secure for themselves future invitations by promoting the general cheerful ness. The rich man has also many opportunities of conferring more material benefits on his friends.
When they are poor, he can relieve their necessities by supplying them with money or helping them to obtain lucrative appointments.
Also from a feel ing of vanity most men take a great deal of pleasure in being seen frequently in the company of the rich and powerful. Thus there are many motives by which men are urged to cultivate the friend ship of the prosperous.
But when the rich man loses his wealth, or the powerful man is deprived of his power, all the friends, who were attracted only by considerations of self-interest, fall away.
They did not love the man himself, but his riches, his hospitality, and the favours he could confer on those who pleased him.
Therefore when, owing to a change of fortune, he loses the power of conferring benefits, and is himself in need of the help of others, they leave him and seek more profitable friendships. By their conduct they show that they were not real friends, but only pretenders to the name.
The true friend is constant in evil as in good fortune, and remains faithful until death. Thus it is that friendship is tried by adversity, as gold is tried by fire: and it is one of the knowing that those who cultivate our friendship are not self-seekers, acting with an eye to their own advantage, but true