“Shared joy is double joy.”

Original: Geteilte Freude ist doppelte Freude. — Joy becomes greater when it is shared with others rather than kept to oneself. · Maxims and Reflections (German)

• Community
• Companionship
• Joy

“When all is said and done, we have only each other to depend upon.”

A straightforward expression of human interdependence. · Speech, Growth and Responsibility, 1907

• Community
• Companionship
• Connection

“I have found new friends, but I have not forgotten my old ones, and I think I have had quite as pleasant walks within the solemn precincts of Andover as I have ever had amidst my jarring elements.”

An early reflection on the enduring value of friendship and remembered places · Letter to Phineas Barnes

• Companionship
• Friendship
• Memory

“I hope that each and every one of you will find one person in the world before you die who can live with you and count you a blessing.”

A warm wish for the rare blessing of a deeply accepting relationship. · Speech, The Classics and the Sciences, 1923

• Companionship
• Life
• Love

“I have never been able to understand why people fear solitude, for solitude has often been my best companion.”

Defending solitude as a productive and companionable state. · Journal

• Companionship
• Reflection
• Solitude

“I enjoy the society of doctors and clergymen.”

A curious glimpse of the company he particularly enjoyed keeping. · Auto-Analysis

• Companionship
• Conversation

“If we are mistaken, we are mistaken together; which, incidentally, for us is equivalent to being right.”

Original: Si nos equivocamos, nos equivocamos los dos; lo cual, dicho sea de paso, para nosotros equivale á acertar. — Shared uncertainty becomes a form of companionship and discovery rather than failure. · Letter I, Cartas literarias a una mujer (Spanish)

• Companionship
• Uncertainty
• Understanding

“I do not think I ever before received a letter that moved me so deeply as did the letter you sent me just before I left Chicago.”

A sincere acknowledgement of the emotional power of a friend's affection. · Letter to Mr. Gray, 9 January 1890

• Companionship
• Friendship
• Letters

“I have often thought that the deepest friendships are those in which silence is as comfortable as speech.”

Valuing companionship that does not depend upon constant conversation. · Letter

• Companionship
• Friendship
• Silence

“I have many acquaintances now, but not a single pleasant one, not one with whom it would be agreeable to live.”

Original: Wiele mam teraz znajomych, ale żadnego miłego, żadnego, z którym by mi było żyć przyjemnie. — He distinguishes between having company and finding genuine companionship. · Letter to his mother, December 1831 (Polish)

• Companionship
• Friendship
• Loneliness

“A state in which conversation exists not, is for me an air too empty of oxygen for my lungs to breathe it.”

Companionship treated as a physical necessity, not a luxury · Autobiographical prose

• Companionship
• Conversation
• Solitude

“Now I wake each morning inwardly cheerful, and remain so for the whole day, ready to bathe everyone who approaches in the light of my spirit and fill them with joy until they fall into harmony with me.”

Original: Teraz ja budzę się co rano i wraz rozweselony jestem wnętrznie i już na cały dzień taki zostaję, gotów każdego, co się przybliży, oblać jasnością ducha i rozradować go, aż się do harmonii ze mną ułoży. — A striking expression of spiritual joy as something that can be shared with others. · Letter to his mother, 16 April 1844 (Polish)

• Companionship
• Harmony
• Joy

“I feel so lonely when I stand alone before a great work of art. Even in Heaven one must have a beloved companion in order to enjoy it fully.”

Beauty asks to be shared or it remains half seen · Letter to Mary Haskell

• Art
• Companionship
• Loneliness

“I am not ashamed to admit that I like to know that I have your regard, but the whole tone of this letter was that of a kindly affection which was very comforting to me.”

An unusually direct expression of the comfort and value he placed on affection. · Letter to Mr. Gray, 9 January 1890

• Companionship
• Friendship

“The pleasure of reading is doubled when one lives with another who reads too.”

Celebrating the companionship and shared delight that reading can bring. · Table Talk

• Companionship
• Pleasure
• Reading

“I have lain down, and it seems, because Alice is not there, there is no reason why I should get up.”

Revealing how completely her daily life had been bound up with her sister’s presence · Letter to Mrs. Croly, 1873

• Companionship
• Grief
• Loss

“It is not good for a person to be alone, and particularly not to work alone; participation and stimulation are needed if anything is to succeed.”

Original: Es ist nicht gut, daß der Mensch alleine sei, und besonders nicht, daß er alleine arbeite; vielmehr bedarf er der Teilnahme und Anregung, wenn etwas gelingen soll. — Goethe sees collaboration and human encouragement as essential to successful work. · Wilhelm Meister’s Journeyman Years (German)

• Community
• Companionship
• Work

“I have learned that sorrow is not lessened by speaking of it, but it may become more bearable when shared.”

Suggesting that companionship can make grief easier to endure. · Letter

• Companionship
• Grief
• Suffering

“Books are the friends that never desert us, and in solitude they become almost living companions.”

Celebrating reading as a dependable form of companionship. · Letter

• Books
• Companionship
• Reading

“A cheerful companion is a travelling wagon on the journey.”

Original: Ein lustiger Gefährte ist ein Rollwagen auf der Wanderschaft. — Good company lightens the burdens and difficulties of a journey. · Maxims and Reflections (German)

• Companionship
• Joy
• Travel

“Fellowship is life, and lack of fellowship is death.”

A forceful expression of community as essential to human flourishing. · Prose romance, A Dream of John Ball

• Community
• Companionship
• Life