“ One friend in a lifetime is much; two are many; three are hardly possible. Friendship needs a certain parallelism of life, a community of thought, a rivalry of aim. ”
Henry Adams, The Education of Henry Adams (1906). copy citation
| Author | Henry Adams |
|---|---|
| Source | The Education of Henry Adams |
| Topic | life friendship thought rivalry community |
| Date | 1906 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | |
| Weblink | http://www.gutenberg.org/files/2044/2044-h/2044-h.htm |
Context
“He had in him something of the Greek—a touch of Alcibiades or Alexander. One Clarence King only existed in the world.
A new friend is always a miracle, but at thirty-three years old, such a bird of paradise rising in the sage-brush was an avatar. One friend in a lifetime is much; two are many; three are hardly possible. Friendship needs a certain parallelism of life, a community of thought, a rivalry of aim. King, like Adams, and all their generation, was at that moment passing the critical point of his career. The one, coming from the west, saturated with the sunshine of the Sierras, met the other, drifting from the east, drenched in the fogs of London, and both had the same problems to handle—the same stock of implements—the same field to work in; above all, the same obstacles to overcome.” source
A new friend is always a miracle, but at thirty-three years old, such a bird of paradise rising in the sage-brush was an avatar. One friend in a lifetime is much; two are many; three are hardly possible. Friendship needs a certain parallelism of life, a community of thought, a rivalry of aim. King, like Adams, and all their generation, was at that moment passing the critical point of his career. The one, coming from the west, saturated with the sunshine of the Sierras, met the other, drifting from the east, drenched in the fogs of London, and both had the same problems to handle—the same stock of implements—the same field to work in; above all, the same obstacles to overcome.” source
Meaning and analysis
