--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: No man is useless while he has a friend." description: "\"No man is useless while he has a friend.\" — Robert Louis Stevenson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/711/robert-louis-stevenson-289_friend_no-man-is-useless-while-he-has-a-friend_3060013.jpg" --- # No man is useless while he has a friend. ![“No man is useless while he has a friend.” quote by Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/711/robert-louis-stevenson-289_friend_no-man-is-useless-while-he-has-a-friend_3060013.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/711/robert-louis-stevenson-289_friend_no-man-is-useless-while-he-has-a-friend_3060013.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/711/robert-louis-stevenson-289_friend_no-man-is-useless-while-he-has-a-friend_3060013.jpg) > “No man is useless while he has a friend.” [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Friendship gives purpose and value to life, making even the seemingly useless feel needed. **In simple terms:** Friends give life meaning. Key Takeaway Cherish friendships for purpose. Themes friendship purpose meaning human connection value Mood warm thoughtful inspirational Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - loneliness - career transitions - mental health struggles - new environments - community building Key Concepts literature philosophy social psychology Questions to Reflect On - How can you become a friend to someone in need? - What does being useful look like to you? A Different Perspective Not everyone may have a friend; isolation can persist. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Friend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friend/) [Friendship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendship/) ## Related quotes > [So long as we are loved by others I should say that we are almost indispensable; and no man is useless while he has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/so-long-as-we-are-loved-by-others-i-should-say-that-we-are-almost/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [L'homme est une passion inutile. Man is a useless passion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/l-homme-est-une-passion-inutile-man-is-a-useless-passion/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [Feeling useless for a friend is probably one of the worse feelings in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/feeling-useless-for-a-friend-is-probably-one-of-the-worse-feelings-in/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The man is as useless as nipples on a breastplate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-man-is-as-useless-as-nipples-on-a-breastplate/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The life of an uneducated man is as useless as the tail of a dog which neither covers its rear end, nor protects it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chanakya/the-life-of-an-uneducated-man-is-as-useless-as-the-tail-of-a-dog/) [Chanakya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chanakya/) > [“It is possible for God to live in a man and for the man to still be useless.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/it-is-possible-for-god-to-live-in-a-man-and-for-the-man-to-still-be/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [The Arts are man's most useless ... and essential ... activity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eug-ne-ionesco/the-arts-are-man-s-most-useless-and-essential-activity/) [Eugene Ionesco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eug-ne-ionesco/) > [The man was useless as tits on a bull, but he didn't deserve to die like that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-roberts/the-man-was-useless-as-tits-on-a-bull-but-he-didn-t-deserve-to-die/) [Nora Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-roberts/) > [“If it is characteristic of the wise man to do nothing useless, no one will surpass me in wisdom: I do not even lower…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-m-cioran/if-it-is-characteristic-of-the-wise-man-to-do-nothing-useless-no-one/) [Emil M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-m-cioran/) > [The merely well-informed man is the most useless bore on God's earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/the-merely-well-informed-man-is-the-most-useless-bore-on-god-s-earth/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [Without my airplane I am an ordinary man, and a useless one - a trainer without a horse, a sculptor without marble, a priest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-bach/without-my-airplane-i-am-an-ordinary-man-and-a-useless-one-a-trainer/) [Richard Bach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-bach/) > [The life of an ignorant man is as useless as the tail of a dog which neither covers its rear end, nor protects it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/the-life-of-an-ignorant-man-is-as-useless-as-the-tail-of-a-dog-which/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [“We are all travelers in the wilderness of this world, and the best that we find is an honest friend. He is a fortunate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/we-are-all-travelers-in-the-wilderness-of-this-world-and-the-best/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [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/) > [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/) ## More by Robert Louis Stevenson > [You must suffer me to go my own dark way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/you-must-suffer-me-to-go-my-own-dark-way/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [Nobody speaks of a beautifful view for 5 minutes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/nobody-speaks-of-a-beautifful-view-for-5-minutes/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [“We are all travelers in the wilderness of this world, and the best that we find is an honest friend. He is a fortunate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/we-are-all-travelers-in-the-wilderness-of-this-world-and-the-best/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [The little rift between the sexes is astonishingly widened by simply teaching one set of catchwords to the girls and another to the boys.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/the-little-rift-between-the-sexes-is-astonishingly-widened-by-simply/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [The problem of education is twofold: first to know, and then to utter. Everyone who lives any semblance of an inner life thinks more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/the-problem-of-education-is-twofold-first-to-know-and-then-to-utter/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [“For thirty years," he said, "I've sailed the seas and seen good and bad, better and worse, fair weather and foul, provisions running out,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/for-thirty-years-he-said-i-ve-sailed-the-seas-and-seen-good-and-bad/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [“Mutiny, it was plain, hung over us like a thunder-cloud.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/mutiny-it-was-plain-hung-over-us-like-a-thunder-cloud/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [Jealousy is the most radical primeval and naked form of admiration in war paint, so to speak.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/jealousy-is-the-most-radical-primeval-and-naked-form-of-admiration-in/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [It is the property of things seen for the first time, or for the first time after long, like the flowers in spring, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/it-is-the-property-of-things-seen-for-the-first-time-or-for-the-first/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [You have no idea, unless you have tried it, how endlessly long is a summer's day, that you measure out only by hunger, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/you-have-no-idea-unless-you-have-tried-it-how-endlessly-long-is-a/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [Do not measure success by today's harvest. Measure success by the seeds you plant today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/do-not-measure-success-by-today-s-harvest-measure-success-by-the/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [To be idle requires a strong sense of personal identity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/to-be-idle-requires-a-strong-sense-of-personal-identity/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [Saints are sinners who kept on going.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/saints-are-sinners-who-kept-on-going/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [Loving God, help us remember the birth of Jesus, that we may share in the song of the angels, the gladness of the shepherds,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/loving-god-help-us-remember-the-birth-of-jesus-that-we-may-share-in/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [The friendly cow, all red and white, I love with all my heart; She gives me cream with all her might, To eat with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/the-friendly-cow-all-red-and-white-i-love-with-all-my-heart-she-gives/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) [Explore all 701 Robert Louis Stevenson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) ## More Friend quotes > [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 > [“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/) > [“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/) > [“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/) > [That FRIEND who claim they do anything for you. but yet talk behind your back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kushsoulja/that-friend-who-claim-they-do-anything-for-you-but-yet-talk-behind/) KushSoulja > [In life, we never lose friends we only get to know who the true ones are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ace-kid/in-life-we-never-lose-friends-we-only-get-to-know-who-the-true-ones/) [Ace Kid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ace-kid/) > [“Before you were my enemy, you were my best friend.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kresley-cole/before-you-were-my-enemy-you-were-my-best-friend/) [Kresley Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kresley-cole/) > [Sam dropped me off. When she was too far away to see me, I started to cry again. Because she was my friend again.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-chbosky/sam-dropped-me-off-when-she-was-too-far-away-to-see-me-i-started-to/) [Stephen Chbosky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-chbosky/) > [“When you get lost in a really strange place, nothing is more comforting than found your friend whom you trust and can show the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta/when-you-get-lost-in-a-really-strange-place-nothing-is-more/) [Toba Beta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta/) > [Friendship, "the wine of life," should, like a well-stocked cellar, be continually renewed; and it is consolatory to think, that although we can seldom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-boswell/friendship-the-wine-of-life-should-like-a-well-stocked-cellar-be/) [James Boswell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-boswell/) > [I fell in love with my best friend, but I know that if it doesn't last, it will never be the same.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelly-yang/i-fell-in-love-with-my-best-friend-but-i-know-that-if-it-doesn-t-last/) Shelly Yang > [A best friend isn't someone who's just always there for you.Its someone who understands you a bit more than you understand yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/a-best-friend-isn-t-someone-who-s-just-always-there-for-you-its/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) [Browse all 14,984 Friend quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friend/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "No man is useless while he has a friend.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robert Louis Stevenson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/no-man-is-useless-while-he-has-a-friend/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Friend" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/no-man-is-useless-while-he-has-a-friend/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/711/robert-louis-stevenson-289_friend_no-man-is-useless-while-he-has-a-friend_3060013.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/711/robert-louis-stevenson-289_friend_no-man-is-useless-while-he-has-a-friend_3060013.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/711/robert-louis-stevenson-289_friend_no-man-is-useless-while-he-has-a-friend_3060013.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“No man is useless while he has a friend.” — Robert Louis Stevenson", "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": "Robert Louis Stevenson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "No man is useless while he...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/no-man-is-useless-while-he-has-a-friend/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/no-man-is-useless-while-he-has-a-friend/#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 } } ] } ```