"I don't need a friend who changes when I change and who nods when I nod; my shadow does that much better."
"We ought to give our friend pain if it will benefit him, but not to the extent of breaking off our friendship; but just as we make use of some biting medicine that will save and preserve the life of the patient. And so the friend, like a musician, in bringing about an improvement to what is good and expedient, sometimes slackens the chords, sometimes tightens them, and is often pleasant, but always useful."
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Source: Plutarch (1888). “Morals: Ethical Essays. Translated, with Notes and Index. by Arthur Richard Shilleto”
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