Aphorism #10

Friends or enemies?

“Lord, protect me from my friends; I can take care of my enemies.”

Voltaire (1694-1778)

Here we are again… Nothing is guaranteed in life, and even the closest of friends can become the worst of enemies. The problem is that we often do not know our friends as well as we imagine. Ingratitude has a long and well-known history. The more favors we supply to strengthen the friendship, the less gratitude we might receive. It is generally better not to mix work with friendship.  We might discover unpleasant qualities.

On the other hand, an enemy sharpens our wits, keeping us focused and alert. We must try to cooperate with our enemies, and learn to work with them if they are skilled and competent. We can turn around an enemy and make a friend of him if we find mutual interests.

Aphorism #6

 

 

 

 

Iron mask

“We all have strength enough to endure the troubles of others.”

 

Francois duc de La Rochefoucauld (1613-1680)     

This is a very bitter and harsh generalization about human conduct reflecting apathy, selfishness, cynicism and malicious humor. Do you agree with me?

 

Aphorism #3

“If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will never bite you. That is the difference between dog and man.”

Mark Twain

Why do our fellow citizens betray us so frequently? Why do we have so few faithful friends? Why do we read about so much human betrayal while turning the pages of our history? I think we can learn a lot from our dogs.

This is my dog, Ficko. Whenever I come home after a hectic, busy day, he greets me and is ready for a nice, relaxing walk.

Tell me about your favorite animal story!