--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Those were the two prerequisites, in my…" description: "\"“Those were the two prerequisites, in my conception, to perfect friendship: capacity to worship and capacity to laugh. Modern life is not made for frie..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d23/george-santayana-478_eternal-friendship_those-were-the-two-prerequisites-in-my-c_2645632.png" --- # Those were the two prerequisites, in my conception, to… ![“Those were the two prerequisites, in my conception, to perfect friendship: capacity to worship and capacity to laugh. Modern life is not made for friendship: common interests are not strong enough, private interests too absorbing. In each person I catch the fleeting suggestion of something…” quote by George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d23/george-santayana-478_eternal-friendship_those-were-the-two-prerequisites-in-my-c_2645632.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d23/george-santayana-478_eternal-friendship_those-were-the-two-prerequisites-in-my-c_2645632.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d23/george-santayana-478_eternal-friendship_those-were-the-two-prerequisites-in-my-c_2645632.png) > ““Those were the two prerequisites, in my conception, to perfect friendship: capacity to worship and capacity to laugh. Modern life is not made for friendship: common interests are not strong enough, private interests too absorbing. In each person I catch the fleeting suggestion of something beautiful and swear eternal friendship with that.”” [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. True friendship requires both reverence and joy; modern life’s focus on self‑interest makes such deep bonds rare. **In simple terms:** Friendship needs respect and laughter, but modern life hinders it. Key Takeaway Cultivate reverence and humor in friendships. Themes friendship respect humor modern society loneliness Mood thoughtful melancholic inspirational Type philosophical social When to use this quote - college roommates - work colleagues - online communities - family gatherings Key Concepts philosophy social dynamics human connection Questions to Reflect On - What does “capacity to worship” mean today? - How can we foster genuine friendship in busy lives? A Different Perspective Friendship can thrive despite individualism if effort is made. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Eternal friendship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eternal-friendship/) [Friend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friend/) [Friendship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendship/) [Friendship Capacity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendship-capacity-2306337/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life Friendship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-friendship-338246/) [Modern life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modern-life/) [Perfect friendship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perfect-friendship-142478/) [Strong enough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strong-enough/) ## Related quotes > [In each person I catch the fleeting suggestion of something beautiful and swear eternal friendship with that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/in-each-person-i-catch-the-fleeting-suggestion-of-something-beautiful/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [It's so ironic how best friends just slip and they become enemies so dang quick. One wrong phrase could cost 4 years, make the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blondie/it-s-so-ironic-how-best-friends-just-slip-and-they-become-enemies-so/) [Blondie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blondie/) > [Perfect friendship is imperfect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishreen-2/perfect-friendship-is-imperfect/) [Nishreen â¥](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishreen-2/) > [“In a perfect Friendship this Appreciative love is, I think, often so great and so firmly based that each member of the circle feels,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/in-a-perfect-friendship-this-appreciative-love-is-i-think-often-so/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [We love everything on our own account; we even follow our own taste and inclination when we prefer our friends to ourselves; and yet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/we-love-everything-on-our-own-account-we-even-follow-our-own-taste/) [Francois de La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/) > [Perfect friendship puts us under the necessity of being virtuous. As it can only be preserved among estimable persons, it forces us to resemble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-therese-de-marguenat-de-courcelles/perfect-friendship-puts-us-under-the-necessity-of-being-virtuous-as/) [Anne-Therese de Marguenat de Courcelles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-therese-de-marguenat-de-courcelles/) > [Friends never cheat on each other, or take advantage, or lie. Friends do not spy on one another, yet they have no secrets. Friends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-ambrose/friends-never-cheat-on-each-other-or-take-advantage-or-lie-friends-do/) [Stephen Ambrose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-ambrose/) > [Perfect friendship is the friendship of men who are good, and alike in excellence; for these wish well alike to each other qua good,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/perfect-friendship-is-the-friendship-of-men-who-are-good-and-alike-in/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [Charity, by which God and neighbor are loved, is the most perfect friendship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-aquinas/charity-by-which-god-and-neighbor-are-loved-is-the-most-perfect/) [Thomas Aquinas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-aquinas/) > [I believe marriage is a relationship between a man and a woman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitt-romney/i-believe-marriage-is-a-relationship-between-a-man-and-a-woman/) [Mitt Romney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitt-romney/) > [Drink up cause everyone here is good tonight. Except the niggas that I came wit, they good for life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drake/drink-up-cause-everyone-here-is-good-tonight-except-the-niggas-that-i/) [Drake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drake/) > [A sudden thought strikes me,-let us swear an eternal friendship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hookham-frere/a-sudden-thought-strikes-me-let-us-swear-an-eternal-friendship/) [John Hookham Frere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hookham-frere/) > [I count myself really fortunate that I have some lifelong friends. The best thing about a friend is when you are being your own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-grant/i-count-myself-really-fortunate-that-i-have-some-lifelong-friends-the/) [Amy Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-grant/) > [The truth is friendship is every bit as sacred and eternal as marriage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-mansfield/the-truth-is-friendship-is-every-bit-as-sacred-and-eternal-as-marriage/) [Katherine Mansfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-mansfield/) ## More by George Santayana > [Perhaps the universe is nothing but an equilibrium of idiocies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/perhaps-the-universe-is-nothing-but-an-equilibrium-of-idiocies/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [The combative instinct is a savage prompting by which one man's good is found in another's evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/the-combative-instinct-is-a-savage-prompting-by-which-one-man-s-good/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [Sanctity and genius are as rebellious as vice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/sanctity-and-genius-are-as-rebellious-as-vice/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [To attempt to be religious without practicing a specific religion is as possible as attempting to speak without a specific language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/to-attempt-to-be-religious-without-practicing-a-specific-religion-is/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [“The contemporary world has turned its back on the attempt and even on the desire to live reasonably.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/the-contemporary-world-has-turned-its-back-on-the-attempt-and-even-on/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [The pride of the artisan in his art and its uses is pride in himself...It is in his skill and ability to make things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/the-pride-of-the-artisan-in-his-art-and-its-uses-is-pride-in-himself/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [If pain could have cured us we should long ago have been saved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/if-pain-could-have-cured-us-we-should-long-ago-have-been-saved/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [Towers in a modern town are a frill and a survival; they seem like the raised hands of the various churches, afraid of being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/towers-in-a-modern-town-are-a-frill-and-a-survival-they-seem-like-the/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [Wealth, religion, military victory have more rhetorical than efficacious worth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/wealth-religion-military-victory-have-more-rhetorical-than/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [Whoever it was who searched the heavens with a telescope and found no God would not have found the human mind if he had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/whoever-it-was-who-searched-the-heavens-with-a-telescope-and-found-no/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [It is easier to make a saint out of a libertine than out of a prig.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/it-is-easier-to-make-a-saint-out-of-a-libertine-than-out-of-a-prig/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [Experience is a mere whiff or rumble, produced by enormously complex and ill-deciphered causes of experience; and in the other direction, experience is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/experience-is-a-mere-whiff-or-rumble-produced-by-enormously-complex/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [Miracles are propitious accidents, the natural causes of which are too complicated to be readily understood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/miracles-are-propitious-accidents-the-natural-causes-of-which-are-too/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [Memory itself is an internal rumour; and when to this hearsay within the mind we add the falsified echoes that reach us from others,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/memory-itself-is-an-internal-rumour-and-when-to-this-hearsay-within/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [Familiarity breeds contempt only when it breeds inattention.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/familiarity-breeds-contempt-only-when-it-breeds-inattention/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) [Explore all 530 George Santayana quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) ## More Eternal friendship quotes > [I count myself really fortunate that I have some lifelong friends. The best thing about a friend is when you are being your own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-grant/i-count-myself-really-fortunate-that-i-have-some-lifelong-friends-the/) [Amy Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-grant/) > [A sudden thought strikes me,-let us swear an eternal friendship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hookham-frere/a-sudden-thought-strikes-me-let-us-swear-an-eternal-friendship/) [John Hookham Frere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hookham-frere/) > [Drink up cause everyone here is good tonight. Except the niggas that I came wit, they good for life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drake/drink-up-cause-everyone-here-is-good-tonight-except-the-niggas-that-i/) [Drake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drake/) > [I believe marriage is a relationship between a man and a woman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitt-romney/i-believe-marriage-is-a-relationship-between-a-man-and-a-woman/) [Mitt Romney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitt-romney/) > [Meant 2 b together forever … :) :\* ^\_^](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-the-best/meant-2-b-together-forever/) [SAM (THE BEST](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-the-best/) > [The truth is friendship is every bit as sacred and eternal as marriage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-mansfield/the-truth-is-friendship-is-every-bit-as-sacred-and-eternal-as-marriage/) [Katherine Mansfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-mansfield/) > [We'll be Friends Forever, won't we, Pooh?' asked Piglet. Even longer,' Pooh answered.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-a-milne/we-ll-be-friends-forever-won-t-we-pooh-asked-piglet-even-longer-pooh-2/) [A. A. Milne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-a-milne/) > [In each person I catch the fleeting suggestion of something beautiful and swear eternal friendship with that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/in-each-person-i-catch-the-fleeting-suggestion-of-something-beautiful/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [This is April," he said, holding up the chicken. "She's the only friend I have left. I saved her from an evil chef at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirsten-miller/this-is-april-he-said-holding-up-the-chicken-she-s-the-only-friend-i/) [Kirsten Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirsten-miller/) > [“Dear old Jane is a jewel,” agreed Anne, “but,” she added, leaning forward to bestow a tender pat on the plump, dimpled little hand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery/dear-old-jane-is-a-jewel-agreed-anne-but-she-added-leaning-forward-to/) [L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/) > [That's the way girls are isn't it? They swear eternal friendship, and then as soon as a man's in the case it's all forgotten.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jude-morgan/that-s-the-way-girls-are-isn-t-it-they-swear-eternal-friendship-and/) [Jude Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jude-morgan/) > [Madam, I have been looking for a person who disliked gravy all my life; let us swear eternal friendship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-smith/madam-i-have-been-looking-for-a-person-who-disliked-gravy-all-my-life/) [Sydney Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-smith/) > [The butterfly's beauty was vaguely visible in the shroud of society For her alone it was an adventure big enough for both of us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-butterfly-s-beauty-was-vaguely-visible-in-the-shroud-of-society/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Friendship is also a vital and wonderful part of courtship and marriage. A relationship between a man and a woman that begins with friendship…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlin-k-jensen/friendship-is-also-a-vital-and-wonderful-part-of-courtship-and/) [Marlin K. Jensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlin-k-jensen/) > [Make new friends, but keep the old; Those are silver, these are gold. New-made friendships, like new wine, Age will mellow and refine. Friendships…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-parry/make-new-friends-but-keep-the-old-those-are-silver-these-are-gold-new/) [Joseph Parry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-parry/) [Browse all 19 Eternal friendship quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eternal-friendship/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Those were the two prerequisites, in my conception, to perfect friendship: capacity to worship and capacity to laugh. Modern life is not made for friendship: common interests are not strong enough, private interests too absorbing. In each person I catch the fleeting suggestion of something beautiful and swear eternal friendship with that.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "George Santayana" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/those-were-the-two-prerequisites-in-my-conception-to-perfect/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Eternal friendship" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/those-were-the-two-prerequisites-in-my-conception-to-perfect/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d23/george-santayana-478_eternal-friendship_those-were-the-two-prerequisites-in-my-c_2645632.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d23/george-santayana-478_eternal-friendship_those-were-the-two-prerequisites-in-my-c_2645632.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d23/george-santayana-478_eternal-friendship_those-were-the-two-prerequisites-in-my-c_2645632.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Those were the two prerequisites, in my conception, to perfect friendship: capacity to worship and capacity…” — George Santayana", "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": "George Santayana", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Those were the two prerequisites, in...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/those-were-the-two-prerequisites-in-my-conception-to-perfect/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/those-were-the-two-prerequisites-in-my-conception-to-perfect/#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 } } ] } ```