---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Old friends cannot be created out of…"
description: "\"“Old friends cannot be created out of hand. Nothing can match the treasure of common memories, of trials endured together, of quarrels and reconciliati..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f33/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry-174_acorn_old-friends-cannot-be-created-out-of-han_2297150.png"
---

#  Old friends cannot be created out of hand. Nothing can…

![“Old friends cannot be created out of hand. Nothing can match the treasure of common memories, of trials endured together, of quarrels and reconciliations and generous emotions. It is idle, having planted an acorn in the morning, to expect that afternoon to sit in the shade of the oak.” quote by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f33/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry-174_acorn_old-friends-cannot-be-created-out-of-han_2297150.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f33/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry-174_acorn_old-friends-cannot-be-created-out-of-han_2297150.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f33/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry-174_acorn_old-friends-cannot-be-created-out-of-han_2297150.png)

> ““Old friends cannot be created out of hand. Nothing can match the treasure of common memories, of trials endured together, of quarrels and reconciliations and generous emotions. It is idle, having planted an acorn in the morning, to expect that afternoon to sit in the shade of the oak.””

[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.

Genuine friendships develop over time through shared experiences, not instantly.

**In simple terms:** True friendships need time and shared history.

Key Takeaway

Invest in long‑term relationships.

Themes

friendship memory shared experience

Mood

nostalgic warm reflective

Type

literary inspirational

When to use this quote

- team building
- family gatherings
- old school reunions

Key Concepts

bonding trust empathy

Questions to Reflect On

- What memories have strengthened your friendships?
- How do you nurture long‑term bonds?

A Different Perspective

Instant connections may feel rewarding but lack depth.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Friendship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendship/) [Old friends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-friends/)

## Related quotes

> [Nothing can match the treasure of common memories, of trials endured together, of quarrels and reconciliations and generous emotions. It is idle, having planted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/nothing-can-match-the-treasure-of-common-memories-of-trials-endured/)

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

> [You cannot plant an acorn in the morning, and expect that afternoon to sit in the shade of an oak.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/you-cannot-plant-an-acorn-in-the-morning-and-expect-that-afternoon-to/)

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

> [Nothing can match the treasure of common memories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/nothing-can-match-the-treasure-of-common-memories/)

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

> [It's always hard when you've known a person a long time and then you have to recognise that you have nothing left in common…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eva-heller/it-s-always-hard-when-you-ve-known-a-person-a-long-time-and-then-you/)

[Eva Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eva-heller/)

> [“he had been afraid of finding things quite different, and now it pained him to find them so unchanged. the prospect of meeting people,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/he-had-been-afraid-of-finding-things-quite-different-and-now-it/)

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

> [“There is an oak tree is inside the acorn seed, but the acorn seed will never become an oak tree unless it is willing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saji-ijiyemi/there-is-an-oak-tree-is-inside-the-acorn-seed-but-the-acorn-seed-will/)

[Saji Ijiyemi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saji-ijiyemi/)

> [I think character never changes; the Acorn becomes an Oak, which is very little like an Acorn to be sure, but it never becomes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hester-lynch-piozzi/i-think-character-never-changes-the-acorn-becomes-an-oak-which-is/)

[Hester Lynch Piozzi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hester-lynch-piozzi/)

> [“For the acorn to move forward in its life, it must first be severed from everything it has ever known. It must fall from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cody-edward-lee-miller/for-the-acorn-to-move-forward-in-its-life-it-must-first-be-severed/)

[Cody Edward Lee Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cody-edward-lee-miller/)

> [“Get you gone, you dwarf, You minimus of hindering knotgrass made, You bead, you acorn!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/get-you-gone-you-dwarf-you-minimus-of-hindering-knotgrass-made-you/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

> [“Think of the self that God has given as an acorn. It is a marvelous little thing, a perfect shape, perfectly designed for its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-elliot/think-of-the-self-that-god-has-given-as-an-acorn-it-is-a-marvelous/)

[Elisabeth Elliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-elliot/)

> [Eventually, even a blind squirell will find an acorn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-cornette/eventually-even-a-blind-squirell-will-find-an-acorn/)

[Jim Cornette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-cornette/)

> [“As we actually taste the flavor of what he's teaching, we begin to see that it's not proverbs for daily living, or ways of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-bourgeault/as-we-actually-taste-the-flavor-of-what-he-s-teaching-we-begin-to-see/)

[Cynthia Bourgeault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-bourgeault/)

> [The tallest oak tree once was an acorn that any pig could have swallowed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/the-tallest-oak-tree-once-was-an-acorn-that-any-pig-could-have/)

[Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/)

> [It takes time for an acorn to turn into an oak, but the oak is already implied in the acorn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/it-takes-time-for-an-acorn-to-turn-into-an-oak-but-the-oak-is-already/)

[Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/)

> [“Acorn struggles in pain to crack the hard shell and emerge. For it senses that out there… exists more and it knows it. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-rumi/acorn-struggles-in-pain-to-crack-the-hard-shell-and-emerge-for-it/)

[Robin Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-rumi/)

## 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 Acorn quotes

> [“Acorn struggles in pain to crack the hard shell and emerge. For it senses that out there… exists more and it knows it. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-rumi/acorn-struggles-in-pain-to-crack-the-hard-shell-and-emerge-for-it/)

[Robin Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-rumi/)

> [It takes time for an acorn to turn into an oak, but the oak is already implied in the acorn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/it-takes-time-for-an-acorn-to-turn-into-an-oak-but-the-oak-is-already/)

[Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/)

> [The tallest oak tree once was an acorn that any pig could have swallowed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/the-tallest-oak-tree-once-was-an-acorn-that-any-pig-could-have/)

[Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/)

> [“As we actually taste the flavor of what he's teaching, we begin to see that it's not proverbs for daily living, or ways of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-bourgeault/as-we-actually-taste-the-flavor-of-what-he-s-teaching-we-begin-to-see/)

[Cynthia Bourgeault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-bourgeault/)

> [Eventually, even a blind squirell will find an acorn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-cornette/eventually-even-a-blind-squirell-will-find-an-acorn/)

[Jim Cornette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-cornette/)

> [“Think of the self that God has given as an acorn. It is a marvelous little thing, a perfect shape, perfectly designed for its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-elliot/think-of-the-self-that-god-has-given-as-an-acorn-it-is-a-marvelous/)

[Elisabeth Elliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-elliot/)

> [“Get you gone, you dwarf, You minimus of hindering knotgrass made, You bead, you acorn!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/get-you-gone-you-dwarf-you-minimus-of-hindering-knotgrass-made-you/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

> [“For the acorn to move forward in its life, it must first be severed from everything it has ever known. It must fall from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cody-edward-lee-miller/for-the-acorn-to-move-forward-in-its-life-it-must-first-be-severed/)

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> [I think character never changes; the Acorn becomes an Oak, which is very little like an Acorn to be sure, but it never becomes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hester-lynch-piozzi/i-think-character-never-changes-the-acorn-becomes-an-oak-which-is/)

[Hester Lynch Piozzi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hester-lynch-piozzi/)

> [“There is an oak tree is inside the acorn seed, but the acorn seed will never become an oak tree unless it is willing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saji-ijiyemi/there-is-an-oak-tree-is-inside-the-acorn-seed-but-the-acorn-seed-will/)

[Saji Ijiyemi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saji-ijiyemi/)

> [The acorn of ambition often grows into an oak from which men hang.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-acorn-of-ambition-often-grows-into-an-oak-from-which-men-hang/)

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

> [“Even a blind pig finds an acorn now and then.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-robinson/even-a-blind-pig-finds-an-acorn-now-and-then/)

Debra Robinson

> [I'm not cool with ACORN or the working families' party, or people that vote like democrats and run on Republican lines.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-hoffman/i-m-not-cool-with-acorn-or-the-working-families-party-or-people-that/)

[Doug Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-hoffman/)

> [“Even a blind squirrel finds an acorn now and then.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-t-bende/even-a-blind-squirrel-finds-an-acorn-now-and-then/)

[S.T. Bende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-t-bende/)

> [“Even a blind hog can find an acorn once in a while”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-f-shumaker/even-a-blind-hog-can-find-an-acorn-once-in-a-while/)

William F. Shumaker

Browse all 58 Acorn quotes

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