--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Friends should be chosen by a higher…" description: "\"Friends should be chosen by a higher principle of selection than any worldly one. They should be chosen for character, for goodness, for truth and trus..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f22/hugh-black-29546_aspiration_friends-should-be-chosen-by-a-higher-pri_664895.jpg" --- # Friends should be chosen by a higher principle of… ![“Friends should be chosen by a higher principle of selection than any worldly one. They should be chosen for character, for goodness, for truth and trustworthiness, because they have sympathy with us in our best thoughts and holiest aspirations, because they have community of mind in the things of…” quote by Hugh Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f22/hugh-black-29546_aspiration_friends-should-be-chosen-by-a-higher-pri_664895.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f22/hugh-black-29546_aspiration_friends-should-be-chosen-by-a-higher-pri_664895.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f22/hugh-black-29546_aspiration_friends-should-be-chosen-by-a-higher-pri_664895.jpg) > “Friends should be chosen by a higher principle of selection than any worldly one. They should be chosen for character, for goodness, for truth and trustworthiness, because they have sympathy with us in our best thoughts and holiest aspirations, because they have community of mind in the things of the soul.” [Hugh Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-black/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Choose friends based on virtue and shared ideals rather than material gain, fostering mutual growth and moral support. **In simple terms:** Pick friends for character, not status. Key Takeaway Seek virtuous companions. Themes friendship virtue selection Mood reflective thoughtful Type ethical inspirational When to use this quote - personal relationships - community building - spiritual groups - teamwork Key Concepts ethical philosophy social harmony Questions to Reflect On - What qualities define a true friend? - How do shared values strengthen bonds? A Different Perspective Ideal standards may be hard to meet, leading to isolation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Aspiration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aspiration/) [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Community](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/community/) [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [Friend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friend/) [Friendship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendship/) [Goodness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goodness/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Principles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/principles/) [Soul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soul/) [Trustworthiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trustworthiness/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) ## Related quotes > [Friends become our chosen family.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/narenkumar/friends-become-our-chosen-family/) [Narenkumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/narenkumar/) > [Good books, like good friends, are few and chosen; the more select, the more enjoyable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/good-books-like-good-friends-are-few-and-chosen-the-more-select-the-2/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“But, for a Christian, there are, strictly speaking, no chances. A secret Master of the Ceremonies has been at work. Christ, who said to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/but-for-a-christian-there-are-strictly-speaking-no-chances-a-secret-2/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [Books like friends, should be few and well-chosen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/books-like-friends-should-be-few-and-well-chosen/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Let your intimate friends be chosen from such as are better informed than yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-schumann/let-your-intimate-friends-be-chosen-from-such-as-are-better-informed/) [Robert Schumann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-schumann/) > [“Good books, like good friends, are few and chosen; the more select, the more enjoyable." Louisa May Alcott”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-r-smythe/good-books-like-good-friends-are-few-and-chosen-the-more-select-the/) R.R. Smythe > [Friends are often chosen for similitude of manners, and therefore each palliates the other's failings because they are his own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/friends-are-often-chosen-for-similitude-of-manners-and-therefore-each/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [“But for a Christian, there are, strictly speaking, no chances. A secret Master of Ceremonies has been at work. Christ, who said to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/but-for-a-christian-there-are-strictly-speaking-no-chances-a-secret/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [“No one is chosen. Not ever. Not in the real world. You chose to climb out of your window and ride on a Leopard.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/no-one-is-chosen-not-ever-not-in-the-real-world-you-chose-to-climb/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [“But in Friendship, being free of all that, we think we have chosen our peers. In reality, a few years' difference in the dates…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/but-in-friendship-being-free-of-all-that-we-think-we-have-chosen-our/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [“Of course not. No one is chosen. Not ever. Not in the real world. You chose to climb out of your window and ride…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/of-course-not-no-one-is-chosen-not-ever-not-in-the-real-world-you/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [Books, like friends, should be few and well chosen. Like friends, too, we should return to them again and again for, like true friends,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/books-like-friends-should-be-few-and-well-chosen-like-friends-too-we/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [What is needed, however, isn't just that people working together be nice to each other. It is discipline. Discipline is hard--harder than trustworthiness and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atul-gawande/what-is-needed-however-isn-t-just-that-people-working-together-be/) [Atul Gawande](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atul-gawande/) > [“Humility and Trustworthiness are not rooted only in Presentation, Voice modulation or Nice Jorgan but in Actions and Intentions that speak louder than you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/venkat-gandhi/humility-and-trustworthiness-are-not-rooted-only-in-presentation/) [Venkat Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/venkat-gandhi/) > [He who mistrusts most should be trusted least.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theognis-of-megara/he-who-mistrusts-most-should-be-trusted-least/) [Theognis of Megara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theognis-of-megara/) ## More by Hugh Black > [In the relationship of friends: "Each gives to the other, and each receives, and the fruit of the intercourse is more than either in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-black/in-the-relationship-of-friends-each-gives-to-the-other-and-each/) [Hugh Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-black/) > [Friendship cannot become permanent unless it becomes spiritual. There must be fellowship in the deepest things of the soul, community in the highest thoughts,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-black/friendship-cannot-become-permanent-unless-it-becomes-spiritual-there/) [Hugh Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-black/) > [Friendship means to be a strong hand in the dark to another in the time of need.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-black/friendship-means-to-be-a-strong-hand-in-the-dark-to-another-in-the/) [Hugh Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-black/) > [Only God can fully satisfy the hungry heart of man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-black/only-god-can-fully-satisfy-the-hungry-heart-of-man/) [Hugh Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-black/) > [No friendship has done its work until it reaches the supremest satisfaction of spiritual communion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-black/no-friendship-has-done-its-work-until-it-reaches-the-supremest/) [Hugh Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-black/) > [“Satire is negative truth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-black/satire-is-negative-truth/) [Hugh Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-black/) > [At the heart of happiness lies peace. It is the last and the highest attainment of the soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-black/at-the-heart-of-happiness-lies-peace-it-is-the-last-and-the-highest/) [Hugh Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-black/) > [A man's inner nature is revealed by what he praises-a man is self-judged by what he says of others. Thus a man is judged…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-black/a-man-s-inner-nature-is-revealed-by-what-he-praises-a-man-is-self/) [Hugh Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-black/) > [If happiness is a state of the inward life, we have to look for its chief obstructions not in outward conditions but in deeper…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-black/if-happiness-is-a-state-of-the-inward-life-we-have-to-look-for-its/) [Hugh Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-black/) > [It is the paradox of life that the way to miss pleasure is to seek it first.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-black/it-is-the-paradox-of-life-that-the-way-to-miss-pleasure-is-to-seek-it/) [Hugh Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-black/) > [We walk among worlds unrealized until we have learned the secret of love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-black/we-walk-among-worlds-unrealized-until-we-have-learned-the-secret-of/) [Hugh Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-black/) > [Prayer is not an act of worship merely, the bending of the knee on set occasions, and offering petitions in need. It is an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-black/prayer-is-not-an-act-of-worship-merely-the-bending-of-the-knee-on-set/) [Hugh Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-black/) > [What we feel is as true a fact as what we think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-black/what-we-feel-is-as-true-a-fact-as-what-we-think/) [Hugh Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-black/) > [The fear of God kills all other fears.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-black/the-fear-of-god-kills-all-other-fears/) [Hugh Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-black/) > [The duty of happiness becomes clearer when we see how it affects others. It is the merry heart that makes the cheerful countenance, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-black/the-duty-of-happiness-becomes-clearer-when-we-see-how-it-affects/) [Hugh Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-black/) [Explore all 18 Hugh Black quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-black/) ## More Aspiration quotes > [To refer even in passing to unpublished or struggling authors and their problems is to put oneself at some risk, so I will say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kingsley-amis/to-refer-even-in-passing-to-unpublished-or-struggling-authors-and/) [Kingsley Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kingsley-amis/) > [The emerging church movement has come to believe that the ultimate context of the spiritual aspirations of a follower of Jesus Christ is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samir-selmanovic/the-emerging-church-movement-has-come-to-believe-that-the-ultimate/) [Samir Selmanovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samir-selmanovic/) > [“No one has any right to tell you that the way you perceive yourself is wrong. Because by doing so, they also discourage the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamand-kojouri/no-one-has-any-right-to-tell-you-that-the-way-you-perceive-yourself/) [Kamand Kojouri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamand-kojouri/) > [We were all children once. And we all share the desire for the well-being of our children, which has always been and will continue…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kofi-annan/we-were-all-children-once-and-we-all-share-the-desire-for-the-well/) [Kofi Annan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-annan/) > [Noise has taken the place of punk rock. People who play noise have no real aspirations to being part of the mainstream culture. Punk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thurston-moore/noise-has-taken-the-place-of-punk-rock-people-who-play-noise-have-no/) [Thurston Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thurston-moore/) > [“A responsible woman doesn’t see opportunities and needs and look the other way pretending not to see them rather she gets to work to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agu-jaachynma-n-e/a-responsible-woman-doesn-t-see-opportunities-and-needs-and-look-the/) [Agu Jaachynma N.E](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agu-jaachynma-n-e/) > [Our task today is to bring India to the threshold of the twenty-first century, free of burden of poverty, legacy of our colonial past,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajiv-gandhi/our-task-today-is-to-bring-india-to-the-threshold-of-the-twenty-first/) [Rajiv Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajiv-gandhi/) > [I know well, Monsieur, how much you have to endure in your present duty, and I ask Our Lord to strengthen you in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-de-paul/i-know-well-monsieur-how-much-you-have-to-endure-in-your-present-duty/) [Vincent de Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-de-paul/) > [“Don't die without fulfilling your purpose.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaachynma-n-e-agu/don-t-die-without-fulfilling-your-purpose/) [Jaachynma N.E. Agu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaachynma-n-e-agu/) > [“Eschew evil and it's machinations.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaachynma-n-e-agu/eschew-evil-and-it-s-machinations/) [Jaachynma N.E. Agu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaachynma-n-e-agu/) > [ One of the great crimes of the Bloomberg/Klein administration \[in New York City\] is that they've removed themselves from communities, as if communities have… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/one-of-the-great-crimes-of-the-bloomberg-klein-administration-in-new/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [You boys know what tropism is, it's what makes a plant grow toward the light. Everything aspires to the light. You don't have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tobias-wolff/you-boys-know-what-tropism-is-it-s-what-makes-a-plant-grow-toward-the/) [Tobias Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tobias-wolff/) > [The world of rumor and gossip is like a privileged world with which a social scientist or an anthropologist can take the temperature of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-c-scott/the-world-of-rumor-and-gossip-is-like-a-privileged-world-with-which-a/) [James C. Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-c-scott/) > [“Don't let any situation intimidate you anymore, don't accept defeat anymore.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaachynma-n-e-agu/don-t-let-any-situation-intimidate-you-anymore-don-t-accept-defeat/) [Jaachynma N.E. Agu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaachynma-n-e-agu/) > [The most important part of our lives-our sensations, emotions, desires, and aspirations-takes place in a universe of illusions which science can attenuate or destroy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-wood-krutch/the-most-important-part-of-our-lives-our-sensations-emotions-desires/) [Joseph Wood Krutch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-wood-krutch/) [Browse all 1,137 Aspiration quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aspiration/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Friends should be chosen by a higher principle of selection than any worldly one. 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