Friendship is essentially the same bond, whether it unites persons of
intellect and refined tastes, or those more unfortunate ones, who,
perhaps, have no conception of their mission in the world, or of their
duty to society. Its manifestations may be wholly different, but the two
friendships will have some points in common. In both instances the
friends are drawn close together and are united by that bond which has
been so beautifully written about throughout the ages.
The abstract theorizing of one philosopher can never satisfy the
individual in regard to the varied manifestations of friendship, and it
is therefore interesting and profitable to note what various writers
have said about this world-wide force under the varying conditions of
the past and the present. It would be a well-nigh hopeless task to
attempt to gather within the compass of a single volume all that has
been written about it. The present volume present some selections that
express in a measure what is implied by the word Friendship.