--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What is commonly called friendship is…" description: "\"What is commonly called friendship is only a little more honor among rogues.\" — Henry David Thoreau" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/72e/henry-david-thoreau-20_friendship_what-is-commonly-called-friendship-is-on_92419.jpg" --- # What is commonly called friendship is only a little more… ![“What is commonly called friendship is only a little more honor among rogues.” quote by Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/72e/henry-david-thoreau-20_friendship_what-is-commonly-called-friendship-is-on_92419.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/72e/henry-david-thoreau-20_friendship_what-is-commonly-called-friendship-is-on_92419.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/72e/henry-david-thoreau-20_friendship_what-is-commonly-called-friendship-is-on_92419.jpg) > “What is commonly called friendship is only a little more honor among rogues.” [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Friendship is portrayed as a fragile pact among imperfect individuals, emphasizing mutual respect over idealized loyalty. **In simple terms:** Friendship as pragmatic honor Key Takeaway Bonds are conditional Themes friendship honor human imperfection social contracts Mood cynical wry Type aphoristic philosophical When to use this quote - workplace alliances - political coalitions - online communities Key Concepts mutual respect pragmatism Practical Applications - team‑building workshops - conflict resolution training Questions to Reflect On - When does friendship become a transaction? - Can honor exist without idealism? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Called Friendship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/called-friendship-702846/) [Friendship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendship/) [Friendship Little](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendship-little-1144210/) [Honor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/honor/) [Honor Rogues](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/honor-rogues-1144209/) [Littles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/littles/) [Lost friend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lost-friend/) [Lost friendship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lost-friendship/) [Rogues](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rogues/) ## Related quotes > [The state does not demand justice of its members, but thinks that it succeeds very well with the least degree of it, hardly more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-state-does-not-demand-justice-of-its-members-but-thinks-that-it/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Friendship, compounded of esteem and love, derives from one its tenderness and its permanence from the other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/friendship-compounded-of-esteem-and-love-derives-from-one-its/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Meg Ryan is a beautiful and courageous woman. I grieve the loss of her companionship, but I haven't lost her friendship. We still phone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-crowe/meg-ryan-is-a-beautiful-and-courageous-woman-i-grieve-the-loss-of-her/) [Russell Crowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-crowe/) > [Respect is based on Friendship,and friendship is based on love and love is so accidental isn't it ?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-e-lee/respect-is-based-on-friendship-and-friendship-is-based-on-love-and/) [Robert E. Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-e-lee/) > [For people on social assistance, the loss of free dental care, prescription drugs and subsidized housing can greatly outweigh additional income from working. We've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-campbell/for-people-on-social-assistance-the-loss-of-free-dental-care/) [Kim Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-campbell/) > [“life has risk. It is filled with pain. God doesn't promise to spare us pain. Pain shapes us. So you have a choice, my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-c-sivils/life-has-risk-it-is-filled-with-pain-god-doesn-t-promise-to-spare-us/) [K.C. Sivils](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-c-sivils/) > [I mean, whose songs don't focus on tragedy and loss?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucinda-williams/i-mean-whose-songs-don-t-focus-on-tragedy-and-loss/) [Lucinda Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucinda-williams/) > [The loss of Eden is personally experienced by every one of us as we leave the wonder and magic and also the pains and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-potter/the-loss-of-eden-is-personally-experienced-by-every-one-of-us-as-we/) [Dennis Potter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-potter/) > [Love is friendship with erotic moments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-gala/love-is-friendship-with-erotic-moments/) [Antonio Gala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-gala/) > [Between friends, frequent reproofs make the friendship distant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/between-friends-frequent-reproofs-make-the-friendship-distant/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [We are advertis'd by our loving friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/we-are-advertis-d-by-our-loving-friends/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“In your life you will meet shooting stars. You will see them, make your wish and see them disappear.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nahiar-ozar/in-your-life-you-will-meet-shooting-stars-you-will-see-them-make-your/) [Nahiar Ozar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nahiar-ozar/) > [You do not lament the loss of hair of one who has been beheaded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-stalin/you-do-not-lament-the-loss-of-hair-of-one-who-has-been-beheaded/) [Joseph Stalin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-stalin/) > [Well, this is a story about books." About books?" About accursed books, about a man who wrote them, about a character who broke out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-ruiz-zafon/well-this-is-a-story-about-books-about-books-about-accursed-books/) [Carlos Ruiz Zafon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-ruiz-zafon/) > [I would certainly say that films like Time Code and the Loss of Sexual Innocence were far more rewarding to me in terms of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-figgis/i-would-certainly-say-that-films-like-time-code-and-the-loss-of/) [Mike Figgis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-figgis/) ## More by Henry David Thoreau > [If ever I did a man any goodof course it was something exceptional and insignificant compared with the good or evil which I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/if-ever-i-did-a-man-any-goodof-course-it-was-something-exceptional/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. They are but improved means to an unimproved end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/our-inventions-are-wont-to-be-pretty-toys-which-distract-our/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“Men say they know many things; But lo! they have taken wings, — The arts and sciences, And a thousand appliances; The wind that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/men-say-they-know-many-things-but-lo-they-have-taken-wings-the-arts/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I am not afraid of praise, for I have practiced it on myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-am-not-afraid-of-praise-for-i-have-practiced-it-on-myself/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“All voting is a sort of gaming, like checkers or back gammon, with a slight moral tinge to it, a playing with right and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/all-voting-is-a-sort-of-gaming-like-checkers-or-back-gammon-with-a/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“This spending of the best part of one's life earning money in order to enjoy a questionable liberty during the least valuable part of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/this-spending-of-the-best-part-of-one-s-life-earning-money-in-order/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [As for doing good; that is one of the professions which is full. Moreover I have tried it fairly and, strange as it may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/as-for-doing-good-that-is-one-of-the-professions-which-is-full/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [A traveler who looks at things with an impartial eye may see what the oldest inhabitant has not observed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/a-traveler-who-looks-at-things-with-an-impartial-eye-may-see-what-the/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [In proportion as our inward life fails, we go more constantly and desperately to the post office. You may depend on it, that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/in-proportion-as-our-inward-life-fails-we-go-more-constantly-and/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I had three chairs in my house; one for solitude, two for friendship, three for society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-had-three-chairs-in-my-house-one-for-solitude-two-for-friendship/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [The still youthful energies of the globe have only to be directed in their proper channel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-still-youthful-energies-of-the-globe-have-only-to-be-directed-in/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Concord's little arch does not span all our fate, nor is what transpires under it law for the universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/concord-s-little-arch-does-not-span-all-our-fate-nor-is-what/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [The lumberers rarely trouble themselves to put out their fires, such is the dampness of the primitive forest; and this is one cause, no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-lumberers-rarely-trouble-themselves-to-put-out-their-fires-such/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“When he has obtained those things which are necessary to life, there is another alternative than to obtain the superfluities; and that is, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/when-he-has-obtained-those-things-which-are-necessary-to-life-there/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Wealth is measured by the level of experience in all aspects of life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/wealth-is-measured-by-the-level-of-experience-in-all-aspects-of-life/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) [Explore all 3,376 Henry David Thoreau quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) ## More Friendship quotes > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I never believed in trying to do anything. Whatever I set out to do I found I had already accomplished.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/i-never-believed-in-trying-to-do-anything-whatever-i-set-out-to-do-i/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [“ever day Maureen is Selfish To her friend and Family One she get mad at her friend and family and She need to Grad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-andeson/ever-day-maureen-is-selfish-to-her-friend-and-family-one-she-get-mad/) [Maureen Andeson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-andeson/) > [I'm trying to write a film with my friend. I'd love to get the thrill of speaking actors making my work even funnier.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-howard/i-m-trying-to-write-a-film-with-my-friend-i-d-love-to-get-the-thrill/) [Russell Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-howard/) > [I gave my archive to Emory University because there's a really dear friend who teaches there, Rudolph Byrd, and he's the editor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/i-gave-my-archive-to-emory-university-because-there-s-a-really-dear/) [Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/) > [Friends are like stars you can't always see them, but you know they're there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/unknwon/friends-are-like-stars-you-can-t-always-see-them-but-you-know-they-re/) [Unknwon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/unknwon/) > [I've been writing songs since I was 10 years old and always had a penchant for rhyming. I started listening to hip hop through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hoodie-allen/i-ve-been-writing-songs-since-i-was-10-years-old-and-always-had-a/) [Hoodie Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hoodie-allen/) > [If you love some one for who they are not for there body or how many friend so when you say I love you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/unknow/if-you-love-some-one-for-who-they-are-not-for-there-body-or-how-many/) [Unknow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/unknow/) > [“But my best friend from college was silent for a long time. She, of all of my friends, had seen the parade of sad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-groff/but-my-best-friend-from-college-was-silent-for-a-long-time-she-of-all/) [Lauren Groff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-groff/) > [You smile upon your friend to-day, To-day his ills are over; You hearken to the lover's say, And happy is the lover. 'Tis late…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-smile-upon-your-friend-to-day-to-day-his-ills-are-over-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“way. A true friend isn't the one that agrees with everything you say or do. A true friend is someone that has your back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shameek-speight/way-a-true-friend-isn-t-the-one-that-agrees-with-everything-you-say/) [Shameek Speight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shameek-speight/) > [No one is completely unhappy at the failure of his best friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/groucho-marx/no-one-is-completely-unhappy-at-the-failure-of-his-best-friend/) [Groucho Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/groucho-marx/) > [“Kings don’t move mountains as a favor to a friend,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-whalen-turner/kings-don-t-move-mountains-as-a-favor-to-a-friend/) [Megan Whalen Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-whalen-turner/) > [I have friends and family that identify as LGBTQ.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-mace/i-have-friends-and-family-that-identify-as-lgbtq/) [Nancy Mace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-mace/) > [“The real purpose of friendship was to discover and exploit weakness in others.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-thompson/the-real-purpose-of-friendship-was-to-discover-and-exploit-weakness/) [Brian Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-thompson/) [Browse all 45,469 Friendship quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendship/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "What is commonly called friendship is only a little more honor among rogues.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Henry David Thoreau" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/what-is-commonly-called-friendship-is-only-a-little-more-honor-among/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Friendship" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/what-is-commonly-called-friendship-is-only-a-little-more-honor-among/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/72e/henry-david-thoreau-20_friendship_what-is-commonly-called-friendship-is-on_92419.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/72e/henry-david-thoreau-20_friendship_what-is-commonly-called-friendship-is-on_92419.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/72e/henry-david-thoreau-20_friendship_what-is-commonly-called-friendship-is-on_92419.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“What is commonly called friendship is only a little more honor among rogues.” — Henry David Thoreau", "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": "Henry David Thoreau", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "What is commonly called friendship is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/what-is-commonly-called-friendship-is-only-a-little-more-honor-among/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/what-is-commonly-called-friendship-is-only-a-little-more-honor-among/#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 } } ] } ```