--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The corpse of friendship is not worth…" description: "\"The corpse of friendship is not worth embalming.\" — William Hazlitt" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf5/william-hazlitt-326_corpse_the-corpse-of-friendship-is-not-worth-em_509511.png" --- # The corpse of friendship is not worth embalming. ![“The corpse of friendship is not worth embalming.” quote by William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf5/william-hazlitt-326_corpse_the-corpse-of-friendship-is-not-worth-em_509511.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf5/william-hazlitt-326_corpse_the-corpse-of-friendship-is-not-worth-em_509511.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf5/william-hazlitt-326_corpse_the-corpse-of-friendship-is-not-worth-em_509511.png) > “The corpse of friendship is not worth embalming.” [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Friendship that has decayed is not worth preserving or celebrating. **In simple terms:** Dead friendships are not worth keeping. Key Takeaway Let go of toxic relationships. Themes friendship mortality value Mood somber thoughtful Type philosophical advice When to use this quote - personal relationships - workplace dynamics - social media Key Concepts social bonds emotional health Questions to Reflect On - What makes a friendship worth preserving? - When is ending a friendship healthy? A Different Perspective Some friendships may still hold lessons. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Embalming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/embalming/) [Friend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friend/) [Friendship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendship/) ## Related quotes > [ René of Anjou \[(1409-80)\] painted a picture of his mistress's corpse as he found it eaten by worms on having it \[her tomb\] openedon… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-walpole/ren-of-anjou-1409-80-painted-a-picture-of-his-mistress-s-corpse-as-he/) [Horace Walpole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-walpole/) > [Now, a corpse, poor thing, is an untouchable and the process of decay is, of all pieces of bad manners, the vulgarest imaginable. For…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/now-a-corpse-poor-thing-is-an-untouchable-and-the-process-of-decay-is/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [I tried body surfing once, but how often do you find a corpse?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emo-philips/i-tried-body-surfing-once-but-how-often-do-you-find-a-corpse/) [Emo Philips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emo-philips/) > [“(these are my highlighted parts of the book) Not human, thought Maura, as the hairs stood up on the back of her neck. My…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tess-gerritsen/these-are-my-highlighted-parts-of-the-book-not-human-thought-maura-as/) [Tess Gerritsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tess-gerritsen/) > [There is no way of conveying to the corpse the reasons you have made him one--you have the corpse, and you are, thereafter, at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-baldwin/there-is-no-way-of-conveying-to-the-corpse-the-reasons-you-have-made/) [James A. Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-baldwin/) > [Here's a strange fact: murder a man, and you feel responsible for his life - ''possessive'', even. You know more about him than his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aravind-adiga/here-s-a-strange-fact-murder-a-man-and-you-feel-responsible-for-his/) [Aravind Adiga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aravind-adiga/) > [Before this war is over, I intend to be a Major General or a corpse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-r-trimble/before-this-war-is-over-i-intend-to-be-a-major-general-or-a-corpse/) Isaac R. Trimble > [A thousand times over, the death knell of the Bible has been sounded, the funeral procession formed, the inscription cut on the tombstone, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-ramm/a-thousand-times-over-the-death-knell-of-the-bible-has-been-sounded/) Bernard Ramm > [When there's someone who's dead and then someone does something that that person would not have liked, they say that that person is spinning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demetri-martin/when-there-s-someone-who-s-dead-and-then-someone-does-something-that/) [Demetri Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demetri-martin/) > [If there is no love more in yonder heart, it is but a corpse unburied.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/if-there-is-no-love-more-in-yonder-heart-it-is-but-a-corpse-unburied/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) > [I think if I were walking someplace and I saw a corpse my brain would tell me it was a million things before I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-handler/i-think-if-i-were-walking-someplace-and-i-saw-a-corpse-my-brain-would/) [Daniel Handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-handler/) > [Alas, poor Yorick! How surprised he would be to see how his counterpart of today is whisked off to a funeral parlor and is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-mitford/alas-poor-yorick-how-surprised-he-would-be-to-see-how-his-counterpart/) [Jessica Mitford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-mitford/) > [“You and I are victims of the same disease. We're fighting the same war, just different battles in different theaters, and it's way too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-marion/you-and-i-are-victims-of-the-same-disease-we-re-fighting-the-same-war/) [Isaac Marion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-marion/) > [The government increasingly resembles somebody who is trying to give the kiss of life to a corpse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vince-cable/the-government-increasingly-resembles-somebody-who-is-trying-to-give/) [Vince Cable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vince-cable/) > [“Any new corpses today?" "None yet." "Pity. I’m getting so I miss my morning coffee and corpse.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-mcbain/any-new-corpses-today-none-yet-pity-i-m-getting-so-i-miss-my-morning/) [Ed McBain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-mcbain/) ## More by William Hazlitt > [First impressions are often the truest, as we find (not infrequently) to our cost, when we have been wheedled out of them by plausible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/first-impressions-are-often-the-truest-as-we-find-not-infrequently-to/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [The art of life is to know how to enjoy a little and to endure very much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/the-art-of-life-is-to-know-how-to-enjoy-a-little-and-to-endure-very/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [We are thankful for good-will rather than for services, for the motive than the quantum of favor received.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/we-are-thankful-for-good-will-rather-than-for-services-for-the-motive/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [The discussing the characters and foibles of common friends is a great sweetness and cement of friendship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/the-discussing-the-characters-and-foibles-of-common-friends-is-a/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [Want of principle is power. Truth and honesty set a limit to our efforts, which impudence and hypocrisy easily overleap.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/want-of-principle-is-power-truth-and-honesty-set-a-limit-to-our/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [Repose is as necessary in conversation as in a picture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/repose-is-as-necessary-in-conversation-as-in-a-picture/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [No act terminating in itself constitutes greatness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/no-act-terminating-in-itself-constitutes-greatness/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [Vice is man's nature: virtue is a habit--or a mask.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/vice-is-man-s-nature-virtue-is-a-habit-or-a-mask/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [We never do anything well till we cease to think about the manner doing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/we-never-do-anything-well-till-we-cease-to-think-about-the-manner/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [Man is the only animal that laughs and weeps; for he is the only animal that is struck with the difference between what things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/man-is-the-only-animal-that-laughs-and-weeps-for-he-is-the-only/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [Those who have had none of the cares of this life to harass and disturb them, have been obliged to have recourse to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/those-who-have-had-none-of-the-cares-of-this-life-to-harass-and/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [Poverty, when it is voluntary, is never despicable, but takes an heroical aspect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/poverty-when-it-is-voluntary-is-never-despicable-but-takes-an/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [We are not satisfied to be right, unless we can prove others to be quite wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/we-are-not-satisfied-to-be-right-unless-we-can-prove-others-to-be/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [The world judge of men by their ability in their profession, and we judge of ourselves by the same test: for it is on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/the-world-judge-of-men-by-their-ability-in-their-profession-and-we/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [The best part of our lives we pass in counting on what is to come.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/the-best-part-of-our-lives-we-pass-in-counting-on-what-is-to-come/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) [Explore all 671 William Hazlitt quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) ## More Corpse quotes > [“WORDS ARE TEETH. AND THEY EAT ME ALIVE. FEED ON MY CORPSE INSTEAD.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-giles/words-are-teeth-and-they-eat-me-alive-feed-on-my-corpse-instead/) [Gail Giles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-giles/) > [“So I should not hate Adolin Kholin for wielding a corpse!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-sanderson/so-i-should-not-hate-adolin-kholin-for-wielding-a-corpse/) [Brandon Sanderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-sanderson/) > [ René of Anjou \[(1409-80)\] painted a picture of his mistress's corpse as he found it eaten by worms on having it \[her tomb\] openedon… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-walpole/ren-of-anjou-1409-80-painted-a-picture-of-his-mistress-s-corpse-as-he/) [Horace Walpole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-walpole/) > [“such is their image of man’s nature: the battleground of a struggle between a corpse and a ghost,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/such-is-their-image-of-man-s-nature-the-battleground-of-a-struggle/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [“She was dry, dry inside like a ten-thousand-year-old tomb, with the last of her life barely dampening the dirt underneath.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kat-rosenfield/she-was-dry-dry-inside-like-a-ten-thousand-year-old-tomb-with-the/) [Kat Rosenfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kat-rosenfield/) > [The government increasingly resembles somebody who is trying to give the kiss of life to a corpse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vince-cable/the-government-increasingly-resembles-somebody-who-is-trying-to-give/) [Vince Cable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vince-cable/) > [I never change, I'm like a corpse in a coffin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-cole/i-never-change-i-m-like-a-corpse-in-a-coffin/) [J Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-cole/) > [“You and I are victims of the same disease. We're fighting the same war, just different battles in different theaters, and it's way too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-marion/you-and-i-are-victims-of-the-same-disease-we-re-fighting-the-same-war/) [Isaac Marion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-marion/) > [Alas, poor Yorick! How surprised he would be to see how his counterpart of today is whisked off to a funeral parlor and is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-mitford/alas-poor-yorick-how-surprised-he-would-be-to-see-how-his-counterpart/) [Jessica Mitford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-mitford/) > [Well, my friend, this earth will one day be that cold corpse; it will become uninhabitable and uninhabited like the moon, which has long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jules-verne/well-my-friend-this-earth-will-one-day-be-that-cold-corpse-it-will/) [Jules Verne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jules-verne/) > [“Bagpipe Music' It's no go the merrygoround, it's no go the rickshaw, All we want is a limousine and a ticket for the peepshow.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-macneice/bagpipe-music-it-s-no-go-the-merrygoround-it-s-no-go-the-rickshaw-all/) [Louis MacNeice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-macneice/) > [“Now, feel free to call me what I am-call me a corpse, call me dead, call me a killer if you want. I've killed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lia-habel/now-feel-free-to-call-me-what-i-am-call-me-a-corpse-call-me-dead-call/) [Lia Habel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lia-habel/) > [“I’ve heard that sometimes a version of you must die before another more enlightened version can be born. I think that’s true after watching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-flygare/i-ve-heard-that-sometimes-a-version-of-you-must-die-before-another/) [Julie Flygare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-flygare/) > [“In some warped way, having an embalmed body with us made perfect sense.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tahir-shah/in-some-warped-way-having-an-embalmed-body-with-us-made-perfect-sense/) [Tahir Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tahir-shah/) > [Memory heaps dead leaves on corpse-like deeds, from under which they do but vaguely offend the sense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-galsworthy/memory-heaps-dead-leaves-on-corpse-like-deeds-from-under-which-they/) [John Galsworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-galsworthy/) Browse all 240 Corpse quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The corpse of friendship is not worth embalming.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William Hazlitt" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/the-corpse-of-friendship-is-not-worth-embalming/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Corpse" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/the-corpse-of-friendship-is-not-worth-embalming/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf5/william-hazlitt-326_corpse_the-corpse-of-friendship-is-not-worth-em_509511.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf5/william-hazlitt-326_corpse_the-corpse-of-friendship-is-not-worth-em_509511.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf5/william-hazlitt-326_corpse_the-corpse-of-friendship-is-not-worth-em_509511.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The corpse of friendship is not worth embalming.” — William Hazlitt", "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": "William Hazlitt", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The corpse of friendship is not...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/the-corpse-of-friendship-is-not-worth-embalming/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/the-corpse-of-friendship-is-not-worth-embalming/#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 } } ] } ```