--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Down to the closest friend every man is a…" description: "\"“Down to the closest friend every man is a potential murderer. Often it wasn't necessary to bring out the gun or the lasso or the branding iron-- they ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/884/henry-miller-179_bitter-experience_down-to-the-closest-friend-every-man-is_1118990.jpg" --- # Down to the closest friend every man is a potential… ![“Down to the closest friend every man is a potential murderer. Often it wasn't necessary to bring out the gun or the lasso or the branding iron-- they had found subtler and more devilish ways of torturing and killing their own. For me the most excruciating agony was to have the word annihilated…” quote by Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/884/henry-miller-179_bitter-experience_down-to-the-closest-friend-every-man-is_1118990.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/884/henry-miller-179_bitter-experience_down-to-the-closest-friend-every-man-is_1118990.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/884/henry-miller-179_bitter-experience_down-to-the-closest-friend-every-man-is_1118990.jpg) > ““Down to the closest friend every man is a potential murderer. Often it wasn't necessary to bring out the gun or the lasso or the branding iron-- they had found subtler and more devilish ways of torturing and killing their own. For me the most excruciating agony was to have the word annihilated before it even left my mouth. I learned, by bitter experience, to hold my tongue; I learned to sit in silence, and even smile, when actually I was foaming at the mouth. I learned to shake hands and say how do you do to all this innocent-looking fiends who were only waiting for me to sit down in order to suck my blood.”” [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The narrator describes how close acquaintances can become sources of deep psychological torment, often more subtle than physical violence. **In simple terms:** Friends can hurt you mentally more than physically. Key Takeaway Guard your words and emotions. Themes trust betrayal psychological harm Mood cautious reflective Type warning philosophical When to use this quote - personal relationships - professional environments Key Concepts human nature social dynamics Questions to Reflect On - How do you protect yourself from subtle harm? - When should you confront a harmful friend? A Different Perspective Not all conflicts are overt; some are internal. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bitter experience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bitter-experience/) [Friendship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendship/) [Sit In Silence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sit-in-silence/) ## Related quotes > [I have learned that a bitter experience can make you stronger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-gibson/i-have-learned-that-a-bitter-experience-can-make-you-stronger/) [Mel Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-gibson/) > [“I have learned from bitter experience how misleading appearances often are, and that a snake sometimes lies hidden under flowers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/i-have-learned-from-bitter-experience-how-misleading-appearances/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [I have learned that a bitter experience can make you stronger. I now boastfully say that I have a hide like a rhinoceros... and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-gibson/i-have-learned-that-a-bitter-experience-can-make-you-stronger-i-now/) [Mel Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-gibson/) > [I had learned one of the bitter lessons of life: never try to regain the past, the fire will have become ashes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-macarthur/i-had-learned-one-of-the-bitter-lessons-of-life-never-try-to-regain/) [Douglas MacArthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-macarthur/) > [What holds the world together, as I have learned from bitter experience, is sexual intercourse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/what-holds-the-world-together-as-i-have-learned-from-bitter/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [“This is all a figurative way of speaking about what is unmentionable. 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The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-johnson/if-things-are-tough-remember-that-every-flower-that-ever-bloomed-had/) [Barbara Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-johnson/) > [It takes a major unhappiness, a prolonged and bitter experience, to drive us away from loyalties once formed. And sometimes no amount of punishment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-takes-a-major-unhappiness-a-prolonged-and-bitter-experience-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Let every one of us cultivate, in every word that issues from our mouth, absolute truth. 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But in reaching out, in the effort to grasp, to attach myself,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/i-reached-out-for-something-to-attach-myself-to-and-i-found-nothing/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [“I saw the errors I had made and assumed full responsibility for everything.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/i-saw-the-errors-i-had-made-and-assumed-full-responsibility-for/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [The monstrous thing is not that men have created roses out of this dung heap, but that, for some reason or other, they should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/the-monstrous-thing-is-not-that-men-have-created-roses-out-of-this/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [They never opened the door which leads to the soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/they-never-opened-the-door-which-leads-to-the-soul/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [“(...)I decided to let myself drift with the tide, to make not the least resistance to fate, no matter in what form it presented…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/i-decided-to-let-myself-drift-with-the-tide-to-make-not-the-least/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [“If it be knowledge or wisdom one is seeking, then one had better go direct to the source. 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The ego dies in its own glass…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/in-the-egocentric-prism-the-helpless-victim-is-walled-in-by-the-very/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [“When one spends what he has on himself, when one has a thoroughly good time with his own money, people are apt to say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/when-one-spends-what-he-has-on-himself-when-one-has-a-thoroughly-good/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [Paint what you like and die happy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/paint-what-you-like-and-die-happy/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [She may be lying in bed reading a book, she may be making love with a prize fighter, or she may be running like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/she-may-be-lying-in-bed-reading-a-book-she-may-be-making-love-with-a/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [“And no one sets about saving the world unless he has first experienced the miracle of personal salvation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/and-no-one-sets-about-saving-the-world-unless-he-has-first/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [“He looks about the room at the few sticks of furniture, at the dirty bed sheets and the wash basin with the dirty water…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/he-looks-about-the-room-at-the-few-sticks-of-furniture-at-the-dirty/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [“Since then, of course, I have discovered what every madman in Paris discovers sooner of later; that there are no ready made infernos for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/since-then-of-course-i-have-discovered-what-every-madman-in-paris/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [“Looking back upon my career, I see myself as a person capable of undertaking almost any task, any vocation. 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I say cultivate, because to very few people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinah-maria-murlock-craik/let-every-one-of-us-cultivate-in-every-word-that-issues-from-our/) [Dinah Maria Murlock Craik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinah-maria-murlock-craik/) > [It takes a major unhappiness, a prolonged and bitter experience, to drive us away from loyalties once formed. And sometimes no amount of punishment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-takes-a-major-unhappiness-a-prolonged-and-bitter-experience-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If things are tough, remember that every flower that ever bloomed had to go through a whole lot of dirt to get there. 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On those rare occasions when I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ogilvy/can-advertising-foist-an-inferior-product-on-the-consumer-bitter/) [David Ogilvy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ogilvy/) > [A woman is not a whole woman without the experience of marriage. In the case of a bad marriage, you win if you lose.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-hurst/a-woman-is-not-a-whole-woman-without-the-experience-of-marriage-in/) [Fannie Hurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-hurst/) > [Through bitter experience I have learned that it is best to promise little and then to reward hard work with generosity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tahir-shah/through-bitter-experience-i-have-learned-that-it-is-best-to-promise/) [Tahir Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tahir-shah/) > [“But she did not say it, she kept rigidly silent. Ostrakova had already sworn to herself that she would restrain both her quick temper…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-le-carre/but-she-did-not-say-it-she-kept-rigidly-silent-ostrakova-had-already/) [John le Carré](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-le-carre/) > [Bitter experience has taught us how fundamental our values are and how great the mission they represent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-peter-balkenende/bitter-experience-has-taught-us-how-fundamental-our-values-are-and/) [Jan Peter Balkenende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-peter-balkenende/) > [ “\[T\]hrough bitter experience I have learned that it is best to promise little and then to reward hard work with generosity.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tahir-shah/t-hrough-bitter-experience-i-have-learned-that-it-is-best-to-promise/) [Tahir Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tahir-shah/) > [I have learnt through bitter experience the one supreme lesson to conserve my anger, and as heat conserved is transmuted into energy, even so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-have-learnt-through-bitter-experience-the-one-supreme-lesson-to/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [People have learned by bitter experience that the "European fraternal union of peoples" cannot be achieved by mere phrases and pious wishes, but only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-engels/people-have-learned-by-bitter-experience-that-the-european-fraternal/) [Friedrich Engels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-engels/) [Browse all 50 Bitter experience quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bitter-experience/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Down to the closest friend every man is a potential murderer. 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