Quotations and Literature Forum

Can u tell me any documentary of the proverb " A friend in need is a friend indeed"? Thanx a million.

I saw it referred to as a Latin, Italian, Spanish, and English proverb.

A FRIEND in need is a friend indeed.
Amicus certus in re incerta cernitur
Prietenul la vreme de nevoie se cunoaste.
În vremea necazului se cunosc prietenii.
Var. A friend is never known till a man have need.
http://www.deproverbio.com/DPbooks/EROM/FGHIJKLM.html

http://www.bartleby.com/59/3/friendinneed.html

A F R I E N D I N N E E D

"The only reward of virtue is virtue;
the only way to have a friend is to be one."
(Ralph Waldo Emerson)

Who is considered a friend? Is a friend a companion, an acquain-tance, a sympa-thizer, an empathizer, a confidant, comrade, colleague, partner? Is a friend all of these, or more? Are friends two personalities, two spirits acting as one, such as Achilles and Patroclus, Castor and Pol-lux, Damon and Pythias, Hercules and Iolaus, David and Jonathan, Epaminondas and Pelopidas, Nisus and Eurylaus, Pylades and Orestes, The-seus and Pirithous, Christ and His beloved disciple? Who among us can, in our sophisti-cated economic self-interest culture, truly have a friend that is more than just a person we know, someone who is more than a social acquaintance, more than a fellow worker, more than a business as-sociate, more than a recreational companion, more than a com-mon-cause adventurer?
Again, who among us can deny the need for a friend? What mean-ing do we comprehend in the old English proverb, "A friend in need is a friend indeed." Is a friend in need a friend who needs help? If so, what sort of help: physical, spiritual, or financial? Is the meaning of help the same as to aid? Is there a significant difference between help and aid? I believe there is, for the term help expresses a much greater dependence and a deeper need than aid. In an extremity one usually cries out God help me! rather than God aid me! In time of danger we cry help! help! rather than aid! aid! The meaning of that old English proverb is, apparently, the obligatory duty that we stand by someone in trouble, to be ready and will-ing to be of help by disregarding personal inconvenience and/or con-se-quence. To me a friend is one who inspires another to do what human nature and sloth hinders or often prevents. Such a friend I have, and I hope I am also such a friend.
http://static.userland.com/gems/amadeus ... n.Need.doc

At the risk of being slightly off topic; this touching story:

A friend Indeed

One day, when I was a freshman in high school, I saw a kid from my class was walking home from school. His name was Kyle. It looked like he was carrying all of his books. I thought to myself, "Why would anyone bring home all his books on a Friday? He must really be a nerd."

I had quite a weekend planned (parties and a football game with my friends tomorrow afternoon), so I shrugged my shoulders and went on.
As I was walking, I saw a bunch of kids running toward him. They ran at him, knocking all his books out of his arms and tripping him so he landed in the dirt. His glasses went flying, and I saw them land in the grass about ten feet from him. He looked up and I saw this terrible sadness in his eyes.

My heart went out to him. So, I jogged over to him and as he crawled around looking for his glasses, and I saw a tear in his eye. As I handed him his glasses, I said, "Those guys are jerks. They really should get lives." He looked at me and said, "Hey thanks!" There was a big smile on his face. It was one of those smiles that showed real gratitude. I helped him pick up his books, and asked him where he lived. As it turned out, he lived near me, so I asked him
why I had never seen him before. He said he had gone to private school before now.

I would have never hung out with a private school kid before. We talked all the way home, and I carried some of his books. He turned out to be a pretty cool kid. I asked him if he wanted to play a little football with my friends. He said yes. We hung out all weekend and the more I got to know Kyle, the more I liked him, and my friends thought the same of him.

Monday morning came, and there was Kyle with the huge stack of books again. I stopped him and said, "Boy, you are gonna really build some serious muscles with this pile of books everyday!" He just laughed and handed me half the books.

Over the next four years, Kyle and I became best friends. When we were seniors, we began to think about college. Kyle decided on Georgetown, and I was going to Duke. I knew that we would always be friends, that the miles would never be a problem. He was going to be a doctor, and I was going for business on a football scholarship.

Kyle was valedictorian of our class. I teased him all the time about being a nerd. He had to prepare a speech for graduation.

I was so glad it wasn't me having to get up there and speak. Graduation day, I saw Kyle. He looked great. He was one of those guys that really found himself during high school. He filled out and actually looked good in glasses.

He had more dates than I had and all the girls loved him. Boy, sometimes I was jealous.

Today was one of those days. I could see that he was nervous about his speech. So, I smacked him on the back and said, "Hey, big guy, you'll be great!" He looked at me with one of those looks (the really grateful one) and smiled.

"Thanks," he said.

As he started his speech, he cleared his throat, and began. "Graduation is a time to thank those who helped you make it through those tough years. Your parents, your teachers, your siblings, maybe a coach...but mostly your friends. I am here to tell all of you that being a friend to someone is the best gift you can give them. I am going to tell you a story."

I just looked at my friend with disbelief as he told the story of the first day we met. He had planned to kill himself over the weekend. He talked of how he had cleaned out his locker so his Mom wouldn't have to do it later and was carrying his stuff home. He looked hard at me and gave me a little smile.

"Thankfully, I was saved. My friend saved me fromdoing the unspeakable."

I heard the gasp go through the crowd as this handsome, popular boy told us all about his weakest moment. I saw his Mom and dad looking at me and smiling that same grateful smile. Not until that moment did I realize it's depth.

Never underestimate the power of your actions. With one small gesture you can change a person's life. For better or for worse.

God puts us all in each other's lives to impact one another in some way. Look for God in others.