--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The friendship which is to be practised…" description: "\"The friendship which is to be practised or expected by common mortals, must take its rise from mutual pleasure, and must end when the power ceases of d..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bec/samuel-johnson-50_cease_the-friendship-which-is-to-be-practised_1770677.jpg" --- # The friendship which is to be practised or expected by… ![“The friendship which is to be practised or expected by common mortals, must take its rise from mutual pleasure, and must end when the power ceases of delighting each other.” quote by Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bec/samuel-johnson-50_cease_the-friendship-which-is-to-be-practised_1770677.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bec/samuel-johnson-50_cease_the-friendship-which-is-to-be-practised_1770677.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bec/samuel-johnson-50_cease_the-friendship-which-is-to-be-practised_1770677.jpg) > “The friendship which is to be practised or expected by common mortals, must take its rise from mutual pleasure, and must end when the power ceases of delighting each other.” [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Friendship among ordinary people should arise from shared enjoyment and ends when that enjoyment fades. **In simple terms:** Friendship is based on mutual pleasure and ends when it stops. Key Takeaway Seek joy in relationships, and let go when it wanes. Themes friendship human nature pleasure Mood contemplative thoughtful Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - social gatherings - collaborative projects - dating - teamwork Key Concepts mutual benefit emotional reciprocity temporary bonds Questions to Reflect On - What sustains a friendship beyond shared enjoyment? - Is pleasure enough for lasting bonds? A Different Perspective Friendships can be superficial if based solely on pleasure. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Friend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friend/) [Friendship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendship/) [Mortals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mortals/) [Pleasure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pleasure/) ## Related quotes > [“the key factor in our mutual pleasure was that we enjoyed each other’s company, which, banal though it may seem, is the fundamental explanation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-boyd/the-key-factor-in-our-mutual-pleasure-was-that-we-enjoyed-each-other/) [William Boyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-boyd/) > [“power ceases in the instant of repose, it resides in the moment of transition”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-emerson/power-ceases-in-the-instant-of-repose-it-resides-in-the-moment-of-2/) ralph emerson > [Power ceases in the instant of repose; it resides in the moment of transition from a past to a new state, in the shooting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/power-ceases-in-the-instant-of-repose-it-resides-in-the-moment-of/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Disease generally begins that equality which death completes; the distinctions which set one man so much above another are very little perceived in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/disease-generally-begins-that-equality-which-death-completes-the/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Mutual complacency is the atmosphere of conjugal love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/mutual-complacency-is-the-atmosphere-of-conjugal-love/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [The works of the righteous would be mortal sins if they would not be feared as mortal sins by the righteous themselves out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/the-works-of-the-righteous-would-be-mortal-sins-if-they-would-not-be/) [Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/) > [This I say, because God showed me somewhat of his truth, in order that I might know what man is without him; that is,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-of-genoa/this-i-say-because-god-showed-me-somewhat-of-his-truth-in-order-that/) [Catherine of Genoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-of-genoa/) > [“The Gods know what it is to be eternal, and they love to toy with mortals who use absolutes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josephine-angelini/the-gods-know-what-it-is-to-be-eternal-and-they-love-to-toy-with/) [Josephine Angelini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josephine-angelini/) > [Talk health. 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The cat often leaves the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-repplier/the-dog-is-guided-by-kindly-instinct-to-the-man-or-woman-whose-heart/) [Agnes Repplier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-repplier/) > [May God bless each of us in our calls to serve. May our faith strengthen as we serve in righteousness, faithfully keeping the commandments.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-tom-perry/may-god-bless-each-of-us-in-our-calls-to-serve-may-our-faith/) [L. Tom Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-tom-perry/) > [Mortals are such fragile things. Just tender feelings walking around exposed in their delicate shells...Easy to crush.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-marr/mortals-are-such-fragile-things-just-tender-feelings-walking-around/) [Melissa Marr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-marr/) > [The writings of latter-day prophets clearly teach that the sorrows and sufferings endured by Adam and Eve upon their leaving the Garden of Eden…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-k-judd/the-writings-of-latter-day-prophets-clearly-teach-that-the-sorrows/) Daniel K Judd > [Those whose life is long still strive for gain, and for all mortals all things take second place to money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/those-whose-life-is-long-still-strive-for-gain-and-for-all-mortals/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) ## More by Samuel Johnson > [The size of a man's understanding might always be justly measured by his mirth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-size-of-a-man-s-understanding-might-always-be-justly-measured-by/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Pound St. Paul's Church into atoms, and consider any single atom; it is to be sure, good for nothing; but put all these atoms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/pound-st-paul-s-church-into-atoms-and-consider-any-single-atom-it-is/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [You can never be wise unless you love reading.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/you-can-never-be-wise-unless-you-love-reading/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [If our aim is to praise, we should forget to criticize; if our aim is to criticize, we should remember to praise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/if-our-aim-is-to-praise-we-should-forget-to-criticize-if-our-aim-is/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [All theory is against free will; all experience is for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/all-theory-is-against-free-will-all-experience-is-for-it/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Had I learned to fiddle, I should have done nothing else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/had-i-learned-to-fiddle-i-should-have-done-nothing-else/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [It is as foolish to make experiments upon the constancy of a friend, as upon the chastity of a wife.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/it-is-as-foolish-to-make-experiments-upon-the-constancy-of-a-friend/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Resolve not to be poor: whatever you have, spend less. Poverty is a great enemy to human happiness; it certainly destroys liberty, and it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/resolve-not-to-be-poor-whatever-you-have-spend-less-poverty-is-a/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [The basis of all excellence is truth: he that professes love ought to feel its power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-basis-of-all-excellence-is-truth-he-that-professes-love-ought-to/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Words are daughters of earth but ideas are sons of heaven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/words-are-daughters-of-earth-but-ideas-are-sons-of-heaven/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [“The composition of Shakespeare is a forest, in which oaks extend in the air, interspersed sometimes with weeds and brambles, and sometimes giving shelting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-composition-of-shakespeare-is-a-forest-in-which-oaks-extend-in/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [“The cherubim were never intended as an object of worship, because they were only the appendices to another thing. But a thing is then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-cherubim-were-never-intended-as-an-object-of-worship-because-they/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Nobody has the right to put another under such a difficulty that he must either hurt the person by telling the truth or hurt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/nobody-has-the-right-to-put-another-under-such-a-difficulty-that-he/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [That kind of life is most happy which affords us most opportunities of gaining our own self-esteem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/that-kind-of-life-is-most-happy-which-affords-us-most-opportunities/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [The time will come to every human being when it must be known how well he can bear to die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-time-will-come-to-every-human-being-when-it-must-be-known-how/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) [Explore all 1,998 Samuel Johnson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) ## More Cease quotes > [So long as we fear the outside world, we must cease to think of Swaraj.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/so-long-as-we-fear-the-outside-world-we-must-cease-to-think-of-swaraj/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [In the name of Jerusalem. If I forget the extermination of the Jews, may my right hand wither, may my tongue stick to my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/menachem-begin/in-the-name-of-jerusalem-if-i-forget-the-extermination-of-the-jews/) [Menachem Begin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/menachem-begin/) > [But if you will recall the history of our civil troubles, you will see half the nation bathe itself, out of piety, in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-diderot/but-if-you-will-recall-the-history-of-our-civil-troubles-you-will-see/) [Denis Diderot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-diderot/) > [Metallica's the only band i've ever been in. I'm not sure that when it ends in five, ten years, I'm going to put an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lars-ulrich/metallica-s-the-only-band-i-ve-ever-been-in-i-m-not-sure-that-when-it/) [Lars Ulrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lars-ulrich/) > [Cease speaking of enemies when an achievement can kindle a great light. Solitude will transmit the message better than the murmurs of crowds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-roerich/cease-speaking-of-enemies-when-an-achievement-can-kindle-a-great/) Nicholas Roerich > [Without a function, we cease to be. So, I will write till I die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/farley-mowat/without-a-function-we-cease-to-be-so-i-will-write-till-i-die/) [Farley Mowat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/farley-mowat/) > [We have won an armistice on a single battlefield, not peace in our world. We may not now relax our guard nor cease our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-d-eisenhower/we-have-won-an-armistice-on-a-single-battlefield-not-peace-in-our/) [Dwight D. Eisenhower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-d-eisenhower/) > [My child, seek those things which make for peace. Cease to stir up the King against the Church, and urge upon him a better…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/my-child-seek-those-things-which-make-for-peace-cease-to-stir-up-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [To write is to make oneself the echo of what cannot cease speaking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-bennett/to-write-is-to-make-oneself-the-echo-of-what-cannot-cease-speaking/) [Arnold Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-bennett/) > [Were the life of man prolonged, he would become such a proficient in villainy, that it would become necessary again to drown or to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/were-the-life-of-man-prolonged-he-would-become-such-a-proficient-in/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [When fear ceases to scare you, it cannot stay.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-zukav/when-fear-ceases-to-scare-you-it-cannot-stay/) [Gary Zukav](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-zukav/) > [We may argue eloquently that 'Honesty is the best Policy' - unfortunately, the moment honesty is adopted for the sake of policy it mysteriously…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/we-may-argue-eloquently-that-honesty-is-the-best-policy-unfortunately/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [He who ceases to pray ceases to prosper.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gurney-benham/he-who-ceases-to-pray-ceases-to-prosper/) [William Gurney Benham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gurney-benham/) > [For we must share, if we would keep, that blessing from above; ceasing to give, we cease to have; such is the law of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-chenevix-trench/for-we-must-share-if-we-would-keep-that-blessing-from-above-ceasing/) [Richard Chenevix Trench](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-chenevix-trench/) > [When men are unhappy, they do not imagine they can ever cease to be so; and when some calamity has fallen on them, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/when-men-are-unhappy-they-do-not-imagine-they-can-ever-cease-to-be-so/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) Browse all 1,358 Cease quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The friendship which is to be practised or expected by common mortals, must take its rise from mutual pleasure, and must end when the power ceases of delighting each other.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Samuel Johnson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-friendship-which-is-to-be-practised-or-expected-by-common-mortals/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cease" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-friendship-which-is-to-be-practised-or-expected-by-common-mortals/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bec/samuel-johnson-50_cease_the-friendship-which-is-to-be-practised_1770677.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bec/samuel-johnson-50_cease_the-friendship-which-is-to-be-practised_1770677.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bec/samuel-johnson-50_cease_the-friendship-which-is-to-be-practised_1770677.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The friendship which is to be practised or expected by common mortals, must take its rise from mutual…” — Samuel Johnson", "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": "Samuel Johnson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The friendship which is to be...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-friendship-which-is-to-be-practised-or-expected-by-common-mortals/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-friendship-which-is-to-be-practised-or-expected-by-common-mortals/#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 } } ] } ```