St Augustine - on friends

St Augustine - on friends 

“What drew me closest to my brothers was the delight of chatting and laughing together,

of showing our affection for one another by kindly services,

of reading together from books that spoke of pleasant things,

of joking together amicably,

of disputing now and then but without resentment,

as one is wont to do with himself,

of awakening by rare contest the pleasure of being one in mind,

of mutually instructing on another,

of longing for the absent one,

and tasting joy of his return.

We loved each other with all our hearts,

and these marks of our friendship that were shown in our faces,

by our voices,

in our eyes and a thousand other ways,

were among us like ardent flames that fused our soul together,

and of many made but one.” 

St. Augustine