Gift box with gathered untied raspberry ribbon

Original artwork, not a still

Baltasar Gracian

A friend is a gift you give yourself.

Behind the line

What it means

Our interpretation.

Friendship is pictured as a gift whose giver and recipient are the same person. That unusual arrangement gives choosing a friend a personal value beyond any exchange of favours. The saying celebrates what a friendship can add to one’s life without specifying how it must be earned.

Context reviewed

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