--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Absent or dead, still let a friend be dear." description: "\"Absent or dead, still let a friend be dear.\" — Alexander Pope" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79c/alexander-pope-235_absent_absent-or-dead-still-let-a-friend-be-dea_2154263.png" --- # Absent or dead, still let a friend be dear. ![“Absent or dead, still let a friend be dear.” quote by Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79c/alexander-pope-235_absent_absent-or-dead-still-let-a-friend-be-dea_2154263.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79c/alexander-pope-235_absent_absent-or-dead-still-let-a-friend-be-dea_2154263.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79c/alexander-pope-235_absent_absent-or-dead-still-let-a-friend-be-dea_2154263.png) > “Absent or dead, still let a friend be dear.” [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Even when a friend is absent or dead, maintain affection and cherish their memory. **In simple terms:** Keep love for a friend alive despite distance or loss. Key Takeaway Hold dear the memory of friends. Themes friendship loss remembrance Mood nostalgic reflective Type poetic emotional When to use this quote - grief counseling - anniversary rituals - legacy projects Key Concepts memory affection loyalty Questions to Reflect On - How do we honor absent friends meaning? - What practices sustain lasting friendship? A Different Perspective Grief may fade over time, weakening remembrance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dear friend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dear-friend/) [Friend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friend/) [Friendship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendship/) ## Related quotes > [For my own part, I would rather be in company with a dead man than with an absent one; for if the dead man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/for-my-own-part-i-would-rather-be-in-company-with-a-dead-man-than/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [At dramatic rehearsals, the only author that's better than an absent one is a dead one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-s-kaufman/at-dramatic-rehearsals-the-only-author-that-s-better-than-an-absent/) [George S. Kaufman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-s-kaufman/) > [It is his absence that is part of me and has been for years. This is who I am, perhaps who we all are,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camilla-gibb/it-is-his-absence-that-is-part-of-me-and-has-been-for-years-this-is/) [Camilla Gibb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camilla-gibb/) > [“But that is love, isn't it? It's terribly inconvenient. It sweeps you up and stales your attention and slows down your work. our labors…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-buckley/but-that-is-love-isn-t-it-it-s-terribly-inconvenient-it-sweeps-you-up/) [Michael Buckley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-buckley/) > [“Oh indeed! Our and the Wilfers' Mutual Friend, my dear.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/oh-indeed-our-and-the-wilfers-mutual-friend-my-dear/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [My Mother, my friend so dear, Throughout my life youre always near, A tender smile to guide my way, Youre the sunshine to light…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/babloo/my-mother-my-friend-so-dear-throughout-my-life-youre-always-near-a/) [Babloo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/babloo/) > [My mother, my friend so dear. Throughout my life you are always near. A tender smile to guide my way. You are the sunshine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/my-mother-my-friend-so-dear-throughout-my-life-you-are-always-near-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Never find fault with the absent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/never-find-fault-with-the-absent/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [“You know me, I think there ought to be a big old tree right there. And let's give him a friend. Everybody needs a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-ross/you-know-me-i-think-there-ought-to-be-a-big-old-tree-right-there-and/) [Bob Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-ross/) > [Pythagoras asks that we not let a friend go lightly, for whatever reason. Instead, we should stay with a friend as long as we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-moore/pythagoras-asks-that-we-not-let-a-friend-go-lightly-for-whatever/) [Thomas Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-moore/) > [Let friend trust friends, and love demand love's like.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-browning/let-friend-trust-friends-and-love-demand-love-s-like/) [Robert Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-browning/) > [“Sometimes when I am feeling down, I am my own worst enemy. Let me be my friend.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-w-hickman/sometimes-when-i-am-feeling-down-i-am-my-own-worst-enemy-let-me-be-my/) Martha W. Hickman > [I won't promise to be your friend forever,because I won't live that long but let me be your friend as long as I live..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-won-t-promise-to-be-your-friend-forever-because-i-won-t-live-that/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I wont promise to be your friend forever, because I wont live that long. But let me be your friend as long as I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-wont-promise-to-be-your-friend-forever-because-i-wont-live-that/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Let the friend be the festival of the earth to you, and a foretaste of the Superman. I teach you the friend and his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-the-friend-be-the-festival-of-the-earth-to-you-and-a-foretaste-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Alexander Pope > [How do we know that we have a right to kill creatures that we are so little above, as dogs, for our curiosity or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/how-do-we-know-that-we-have-a-right-to-kill-creatures-that-we-are-so/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [To wake the soul by tender strokes of art, To raise the genius, and to mend the heart; To make mankind, in conscious virtue…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/to-wake-the-soul-by-tender-strokes-of-art-to-raise-the-genius-and-to/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [A mighty maze! But not without a plan.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/a-mighty-maze-but-not-without-a-plan/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [Let such teach others who themselves excel, And censure freely who have written well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/let-such-teach-others-who-themselves-excel-and-censure-freely-who/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [For I, who hold sage Homer's rule the best, Welcome the coming, speed the going guest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/for-i-who-hold-sage-homer-s-rule-the-best-welcome-the-coming-speed/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [Like following life through creatures you dissect, You lose it in the moment you detect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/like-following-life-through-creatures-you-dissect-you-lose-it-in-the/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [When two people compliment each other with the choice of anything, each of them generally gets that which he likes least.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/when-two-people-compliment-each-other-with-the-choice-of-anything/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [Such labour'd nothings, in so strange a style, Amaze th' unlearn'd and make the learned smile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/such-labour-d-nothings-in-so-strange-a-style-amaze-th-unlearn-d-and/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [Charms strike the sight, but merit wins the soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/charms-strike-the-sight-but-merit-wins-the-soul/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [She went from opera, park, assembly, play, To morning walks, and prayers three hours a day. To part her time 'twixt reading and bohea,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/she-went-from-opera-park-assembly-play-to-morning-walks-and-prayers/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [I am satisfied to trifle away my time, rather than let it stick by me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/i-am-satisfied-to-trifle-away-my-time-rather-than-let-it-stick-by-me/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [The greatest advantage I know of being thought a wit by the world is, that it gives one the greater freedom of playing the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/the-greatest-advantage-i-know-of-being-thought-a-wit-by-the-world-is/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [Then say not Man's imperfect,Heav'n in fault; Say rather, Man's as perfect ashe ought:](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/then-say-not-man-s-imperfect-heav-n-in-fault-say-rather-man-s-as/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [First follow Nature, and your judgment frame By her just standard, which is still the same: Unerring nature, still divinely bright, One clear, unchanged,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/first-follow-nature-and-your-judgment-frame-by-her-just-standard/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [Who shall decide when doctors disagree, And soundest casuists doubt, like you and me?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/who-shall-decide-when-doctors-disagree-and-soundest-casuists-doubt/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) [Explore all 850 Alexander Pope quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) ## More Absent quotes > [Majority decisions tend to be made without engaging the systematic thought and critical thinking skills of the individuals in the group. Given the force…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/majority-decisions-tend-to-be-made-without-engaging-the-systematic/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [In a general way, the literature of the twentieth century is essentially psychological; and psychology consists of describing states of the soul by displaying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/in-a-general-way-the-literature-of-the-twentieth-century-is/) [Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/) > [Emma was a shocking driver, simultaneously sloppy and petrified, and for the first fifty miles had been absent-mindedly driving with her spectacles on top…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/emma-was-a-shocking-driver-simultaneously-sloppy-and-petrified-and/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [They are enthusiasts, devotees. Addicts. Something about the circus stirs their souls, and they ache for it when it is absent. They seek each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-morgenstern/they-are-enthusiasts-devotees-addicts-something-about-the-circus/) [Erin Morgenstern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-morgenstern/) > [The interesting thing about an absent father is, for a child, you don't know he's absent. You just think he's... tardy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-majors/the-interesting-thing-about-an-absent-father-is-for-a-child-you-don-t/) [Jonathan Majors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-majors/) > [For my own part, I would rather be in company with a dead man than with an absent one; for if the dead man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/for-my-own-part-i-would-rather-be-in-company-with-a-dead-man-than/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If measure and symmetry are absent from any composition in any degree, ruin awaits both the ingredients and the composition... Measure and symmetry are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/if-measure-and-symmetry-are-absent-from-any-composition-in-any-degree/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [“You may not appreciate the presence of good health, but you will definitely regret the absence of good health, because health is happiness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/you-may-not-appreciate-the-presence-of-good-health-but-you-will/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [... if we are ashamed to imitate our Lord's sufferings, which He endured for us, and to suffer as He suffered, it is obvious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/symeon-the-new-theologian/if-we-are-ashamed-to-imitate-our-lord-s-sufferings-which-he-endured/) [Symeon the New Theologian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/symeon-the-new-theologian/) > [It's Simon, he's missing." Ahh." said Magnus delicately "Missing what exactly?" Missing!" Jace repeated "As in gone, absent, notable for his lack of presence,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/it-s-simon-he-s-missing-ahh-said-magnus-delicately-missing-what/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [Anger clearly has its proper place at work, which is neither wholly absent nor ever present. The manager who is an emotional blank is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-baggini/anger-clearly-has-its-proper-place-at-work-which-is-neither-wholly/) [Julian Baggini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-baggini/) > [They were not mentioned in the Declaration of Independence, they were absent in the Constitution and they were invisible in the new political democracy.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/they-were-not-mentioned-in-the-declaration-of-independence-they-were/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [Religion has always been a matter of community building; a matter of building precisely those relations of compassion, fellow feeling and - I dare…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rowan-williams/religion-has-always-been-a-matter-of-community-building-a-matter-of/) [Rowan Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rowan-williams/) > [A FRIEND IS A PERSON . . . With whom you can be sincere. . . . To whom you never need to defend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-armand-montapert/a-friend-is-a-person-with-whom-you-can-be-sincere-to-whom-you-never/) [Alfred Armand Montapert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-armand-montapert/) > [The very serpents bite their tails; the bees forget to sting, For a language so celestial setteth up a wondering. And the touch of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathalia-crane/the-very-serpents-bite-their-tails-the-bees-forget-to-sting-for-a/) [Nathalia Crane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathalia-crane/) Browse all 490 Absent quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Absent or dead, still let a friend be dear.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alexander Pope" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/absent-or-dead-still-let-a-friend-be-dear/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Absent" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/absent-or-dead-still-let-a-friend-be-dear/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79c/alexander-pope-235_absent_absent-or-dead-still-let-a-friend-be-dea_2154263.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79c/alexander-pope-235_absent_absent-or-dead-still-let-a-friend-be-dea_2154263.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79c/alexander-pope-235_absent_absent-or-dead-still-let-a-friend-be-dea_2154263.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Absent or dead, still let a friend be dear.” — Alexander Pope", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Alexander Pope", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Absent or dead, still let a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/absent-or-dead-still-let-a-friend-be-dear/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/absent-or-dead-still-let-a-friend-be-dear/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```