---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Nothing, in truth, can ever replace a…"
description: "\"“Nothing, in truth, can ever replace a lost companion. Old comrades cannot be manufactured. There is nothing that can equal the treasure of so many sha..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0cb/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry-174_bad-time_nothing-in-truth-can-ever-replace-a-lost_215625.jpg"
---

#  Nothing, in truth, can ever replace a lost companion. Old…

![“Nothing, in truth, can ever replace a lost companion. Old comrades cannot be manufactured. There is nothing that can equal the treasure of so many shared memories, so many bad times endured together, so many quarrels, reconciliations, heartfelt impulses. Friendships like that cannot be…” quote by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0cb/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry-174_bad-time_nothing-in-truth-can-ever-replace-a-lost_215625.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0cb/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry-174_bad-time_nothing-in-truth-can-ever-replace-a-lost_215625.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0cb/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry-174_bad-time_nothing-in-truth-can-ever-replace-a-lost_215625.jpg)

> ““Nothing, in truth, can ever replace a lost companion. Old comrades cannot be manufactured. There is nothing that can equal the treasure of so many shared memories, so many bad times endured together, so many quarrels, reconciliations, heartfelt impulses. Friendships like that cannot be reconstructed. If you plant an oak, you will hope in vain to sit soon under its shade. For such is life. We grow rich as we plant through the early years, but then come the years when time undoes our work and cuts down our trees. One by one our comrades deprive us of their shade, and within our mourning we always feel now the secret grief of growing old. If I search among my memories for those whose taste is lasting, if I write the balance sheet of the moments that truly counted, I surely find those that no fortune could have bought me. You cannot buy the friendship of a companion bound to you forever by ordeals endured together.””

[Antoine de Saint-Exupéry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Deep friendships are irreplaceable; shared hardships create a bond that cannot be recreated or bought.

**In simple terms:** True friends are priceless and cannot be replaced.

Key Takeaway

Cherish and nurture lasting friendships.

Themes

friendship memory loss legacy

Mood

nostalgic melancholic

Type

literary philosophical emotional

When to use this quote

- college years
- military service
- long‑distance relationships
- family reunions
- elder care

Key Concepts

bonding shared experience irreplaceability time mortality

Questions to Reflect On

- Which friendships have shaped you most?
- How do you honor lost friends?

A Different Perspective

New friendships may lack the depth of old ones.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Bad time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-time/) [Bad times](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-times/) [Companion Old](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/companion-old-2215522/) [Friendship Companion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendship-companion-2215523/) [Grief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grief/) [Growing old](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/growing-old/) [Old Comrades](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-comrades-2215524/) [Shared Memories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shared-memories-949840/) [Trees Comrades](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trees-comrades-2215525/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/)

## Related quotes

> [I must return to my old comrades of the Great War - to the brown, the treeless, the flat and grave-set plain of Flanders…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-williamson/i-must-return-to-my-old-comrades-of-the-great-war-to-the-brown-the/)

[Henry Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-williamson/)

> [“Those first seconds of silence echo with all the memories we've shared, all the memories we should've gone on to experience together.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claudia-gray/those-first-seconds-of-silence-echo-with-all-the-memories-we-ve/)

[Claudia Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claudia-gray/)

> [You have given me a second chance in life Sometime before you I couldn't cop with the strife You've given me that love I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jas-rob/you-have-given-me-a-second-chance-in-life-sometime-before-you-i/)

[Jas&amp;rob](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jas-rob/)

> [“ It made her chest hurt, how much she felt in this moment. She knew she should not say anything impetuously. But under the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joey-w-hill/it-made-her-chest-hurt-how-much-she-felt-in-this-moment-she-knew-she/)

[Joey W. Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joey-w-hill/)

> [Many times I look at you and cry ,because we shared so many memories but I cant go back to you because it will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frenchqueen/many-times-i-look-at-you-and-cry-because-we-shared-so-many-memories/)

[Frenchqueen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frenchqueen/)

> [I don't mind being an only child; never have. I am lucky, though, that I have my friend Emily, who grew-up very close to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-ehle/i-don-t-mind-being-an-only-child-never-have-i-am-lucky-though-that-i/)

[Jennifer Ehle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-ehle/)

> [“In a sense, he thought, all we consist of is memories. Our personalities are constructed from memories, our lives are organized around memories, our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-crichton/in-a-sense-he-thought-all-we-consist-of-is-memories-our-personalities/)

[Michael Crichton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-crichton/)

> [“Our eyes met. We had so very many shared memories between us, Bao and I. Some were wonderous, and some were terrible. Some were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-carey/our-eyes-met-we-had-so-very-many-shared-memories-between-us-bao-and-i/)

[Jacqueline Carey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacqueline-carey/)

> [When you live with another person for 50 years, all of your memories are invested in that person, like a bank account of shared…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-fellini/when-you-live-with-another-person-for-50-years-all-of-your-memories/)

[Federico Fellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-fellini/)

> [“Shared memories; triumphs and tragedies; the heroine doing right in the end despite temptation—all the plots of all the movies I’ve written tangled together…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melanie-benjamin/shared-memories-triumphs-and-tragedies-the-heroine-doing-right-in-the/)

[Melanie Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melanie-benjamin/)

> [There is nothing that can equal the treasure of so many shared memories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/there-is-nothing-that-can-equal-the-treasure-of-so-many-shared/)

[Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/)

> [“A memory made alone abides in isolation; such is love that is never shared. Fill your life with shared memories and love, and in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynda-i-fisher/a-memory-made-alone-abides-in-isolation-such-is-love-that-is-never/)

[Lynda I Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynda-i-fisher/)

> [Sisters, while they are growing up, tend to be very rivalrous and as young mothers they are given to continual rivalrous comparisons of their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/sisters-while-they-are-growing-up-tend-to-be-very-rivalrous-and-as/)

[Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/)

> [As important as shared memories is the silent agreement that certain things never happened.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/as-important-as-shared-memories-is-the-silent-agreement-that-certain/)

[Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/)

> [“They talked in the shorthand of old friends and shared memories.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dee-henderson/they-talked-in-the-shorthand-of-old-friends-and-shared-memories/)

[Dee Henderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dee-henderson/)

## More by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

> [“If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up the men to gather wood, divide the work, and give orders. Instead, teach them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/if-you-want-to-build-a-ship-don-t-drum-up-the-men-to-gather-wood/)

[Antoine de Saint-Exupéry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/)

> [A rock pile ceases to be a rock pile the moment a single man contemplates it, bearing within him the image of a cathedral.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/a-rock-pile-ceases-to-be-a-rock-pile-the-moment-a-single-man/)

[Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/)

> [Treason implies responsibility for something, control over something, influence upon something, knowledge of something. Treason in our time is a proof of genius. Why,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/treason-implies-responsibility-for-something-control-over-something/)

[Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/)

> [“perfection is finally attained not when there is no longer anything to add, but when there is no longer anything to take away”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/perfection-is-finally-attained-not-when-there-is-no-longer-anything/)

[Antoine de Saint-Exupéry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/)

> [“But for fear of disheartening them, we also spoke to them of disappointments and the bitter taste that rest has after a useless action.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/but-for-fear-of-disheartening-them-we-also-spoke-to-them-of/)

[Antoine de Saint-Exupéry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/)

> [“If you come at four in the afternoon, I'll begin to be happy by three.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/if-you-come-at-four-in-the-afternoon-i-ll-begin-to-be-happy-by-three/)

[Antoine de Saint-Exupéry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/)

> [Once we are bound together to our brothers by a common good that is outside us, then we can breathe. Experience teaches us that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/once-we-are-bound-together-to-our-brothers-by-a-common-good-that-is/)

[Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/)

> [“The stars are beautiful, because of a flower that cannot be seen.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/the-stars-are-beautiful-because-of-a-flower-that-cannot-be-seen/)

[Antoine de Saint-Exupéry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/)

> [“You are beautiful but you are empty. One could not die for you”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/you-are-beautiful-but-you-are-empty-one-could-not-die-for-you/)

[Antoine de Saint-Exupéry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/)

> [“And the fox said to the little prince: men have forgotten this truth, but you must not forget it. You become responsible, forever, for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/and-the-fox-said-to-the-little-prince-men-have-forgotten-this-truth/)

[Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/)

> [And now here is my secret, a very simple secret; it is only with the heart that one can see rightly, what is essential…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/and-now-here-is-my-secret-a-very-simple-secret-it-is-only-with-the/)

[Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/)

> [Flying is a man's job and its worries are a man's worries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/flying-is-a-man-s-job-and-its-worries-are-a-man-s-worries/)

[Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/)

> [“You are not at all like my rose," he said. "As yet you are nothing. No one has tamed you, and you have tamed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/you-are-not-at-all-like-my-rose-he-said-as-yet-you-are-nothing-no-one/)

[Antoine de Saint-Exupéry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/)

> [Loneliness is bred of a mind that has grown earth-bound.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/loneliness-is-bred-of-a-mind-that-has-grown-earth-bound/)

[Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/)

> [“Stretched out before the fire I looked at the glowing fruit and said to myself that men did not know what an orange was.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/stretched-out-before-the-fire-i-looked-at-the-glowing-fruit-and-said/)

[Antoine de Saint-Exupéry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/)

[Explore all 719 Antoine de Saint-Exupéry quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/)

## More Bad time quotes

> [Buddhism advises you not to implant feelings that you don’t really have or avoid feelings that you do have. If you are miserable you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/buddhism-advises-you-not-to-implant-feelings-that-you-don-t-really/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [My friends and family are my support system. They tell me what I need to hear, not what I want to hear and they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-clarkson/my-friends-and-family-are-my-support-system-they-tell-me-what-i-need/)

[Kelly Clarkson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-clarkson/)

> [Always respect, honour And Pray for those who helped you in your bad time. Also be thankful to bad time, For showing you those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pacifiersucker/always-respect-honour-and-pray-for-those-who-helped-you-in-your-bad/)

[Pacifiersucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pacifiersucker/)

> [It's certainly been very important to have my own family with me. They came with me to Italy, left what they had in Brazil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felipe-anderson/it-s-certainly-been-very-important-to-have-my-own-family-with-me-they/)

[Felipe Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felipe-anderson/)

> [The passing of John Bonham... Let's just put it... Before we say, 'the passing of John Bonham,' the introduction of John Bonham on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-page/the-passing-of-john-bonham-let-s-just-put-it-before-we-say-the/)

[Jimmy Page](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-page/)

> [The good time become good memories. The bad time become good lesson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glemar/the-good-time-become-good-memories-the-bad-time-become-good-lesson/)

[Glemar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glemar/)

> [Writing is for men who can think and feel, not mindless sensation seekers out of nightclubs and bars. But these are bad times. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naguib-mahfouz/writing-is-for-men-who-can-think-and-feel-not-mindless-sensation/)

[Naguib Mahfouz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naguib-mahfouz/)

> [“Don’t let the bad times get you down, You have some of those moments where life tells you, it’s time to cry. Without those,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tiffany-mcdaniel-on-the-savage-side/don-t-let-the-bad-times-get-you-down-you-have-some-of-those-moments/)

[Tiffany McDaniel, On the Savage Side](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tiffany-mcdaniel-on-the-savage-side/)

> [The comments I most appreciate come from ordinary readers who've happened on one of my books at some time of stress in their lives,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-saberhagen/the-comments-i-most-appreciate-come-from-ordinary-readers-who-ve/)

[Fred Saberhagen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-saberhagen/)

> [Everybody need a partner to stand right by their side. Not only down for the good times. But also down through the bad times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-smith/everybody-need-a-partner-to-stand-right-by-their-side-not-only-down/)

[Will Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-smith/)

> [I don't know if it's fair to say that it's a bad time for movies. It seems to me that throughout the entire history…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-h-macy/i-don-t-know-if-it-s-fair-to-say-that-it-s-a-bad-time-for-movies-it/)

[William H. Macy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-h-macy/)

> [Love is . . . Being happy for the other person when they are happy, Being sad for the person when they are sad,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/love-is-being-happy-for-the-other-person-when-they-are-happy-being/)

[Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/)

> [Don't give up on yourself. Fight for yourself and what you stand for. In life, you've got to go through some bad times to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/don-t-give-up-on-yourself-fight-for-yourself-and-what-you-stand-for/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [My dad? He died when I was 19, which is a bad time for your dad to die, because there's an awful lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/my-dad-he-died-when-i-was-19-which-is-a-bad-time-for-your-dad-to-die/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [ “My dear friend, clear your mind of cant \[excessive thought\]. You may talk as other people do: you may say to a man, "Sir,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/my-dear-friend-clear-your-mind-of-cant-excessive-thought-you-may-talk/)

[Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/)

[Browse all 638 Bad time quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-time/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“Nothing, in truth, can ever replace a lost companion. Old comrades cannot be manufactured. There is nothing that can equal the treasure of so many shared memories, so many bad times endured together, so many quarrels, reconciliations, heartfelt impulses. Friendships like that cannot be reconstructed. If you plant an oak, you will hope in vain to sit soon under its shade. For such is life. We grow rich as we plant through the early years, but then come the years when time undoes our work and cuts down our trees. One by one our comrades deprive us of their shade, and within our mourning we always feel now the secret grief of growing old. If I search among my memories for those whose taste is lasting, if I write the balance sheet of the moments that truly counted, I surely find those that no fortune could have bought me. You cannot buy the friendship of a companion bound to you forever by ordeals endured together.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Antoine de Saint-Exupéry"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/nothing-in-truth-can-ever-replace-a-lost-companion-old-comrades/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Bad time"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/nothing-in-truth-can-ever-replace-a-lost-companion-old-comrades/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0cb/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry-174_bad-time_nothing-in-truth-can-ever-replace-a-lost_215625.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0cb/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry-174_bad-time_nothing-in-truth-can-ever-replace-a-lost_215625.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0cb/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry-174_bad-time_nothing-in-truth-can-ever-replace-a-lost_215625.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Nothing, in truth, can ever replace a lost companion. Old comrades cannot be manufactured. There is nothing…” — Antoine de Saint-Exupéry",
                "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": "Antoine de Saint-Exupéry",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“Nothing, in truth, can ever replace...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/nothing-in-truth-can-ever-replace-a-lost-companion-old-comrades/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/nothing-in-truth-can-ever-replace-a-lost-companion-old-comrades/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
