'Tis mine their inmost souls to see,
Unlocked is every heart to me,
To me they cling, on me they rest,
And I've a place in every breast.
For they're a wreath of pearls, and I
The silken cord on which they lie.

--_From the Arabic_.

* * * * *

What room can there be for friendship, or who can be a friend to any one
whom he does not love for his own sake? And what is loving, from which
verb (amo) the very name of friendship (amicitia) is derived, but
wishing a certain person to enjoy the greatest possible good fortune,
even if none of it accrues to one's self?

--_Cicero_.

* * * * *

What makes us so changeable in our friendships is the difficulty we have
in discerning the qualities of the heart, and the ease with which we
discern those of the mind.

--_La Rochefoucauld_.

* * * * *

Worldly friendship is profuse in honeyed words, passionate endearments,