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Emerson writes that, like the way one admires a gemstone, a friend must remain at a distance in order to be fully appreciate. A friend must always be independent, must stand “for the whole world” in the same way that Emerson, according to his theory of experience, contains the whole world within himself. He compares the friend to a gemstone: “hues of the opal, the light of the diamond” cannot be seen if they are too close to the eye. In the same way, the qualities of a friend are invisible when the friend is physically or psychologically too close. It is often best, therefore, to engage with a friend through a letter, or through intense but infrequent one-on-one conversation, rather than constant but superficial engagement. That way, the friend remains an integral whole in and of his or herself, like the singular beauty of a gem, and can be appreciated for all of his or her qualities.
The Gemstone Quotes in Friendship
The Friendship quotes below all refer to the symbol of The Gemstone. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Friendship
Quotes
Let him be to thee forever a sort of beautiful enemy, untamable, devoutly revered, and not a trivial conveniency to be soon outgrown and cast aside. The hues of the opal, the light of the diamond, are not to be seen, if the eye is too near. To my friend I write a letter, and from him I receive a letter. That seems to you a little. It suffices me. It is a spiritual gift worthy of him to give, and of me to receive. It profanes nobody. In these warm lines the heart will trust itself, as it will not to the tongue, and pour out the prophecy of a godlier existence than all the annals of heroism have yet made good.
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Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Friendship LitChart as a printable PDF.
The Gemstone Symbol Timeline in Friendship
The timeline below shows where the symbol The Gemstone appears in Friendship. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Friendship
Just like the colors of an opal are not visible when the eye is too close, so do the qualities of a...
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