Source identified
Read & copy the quotation
“A friend is a person with whom I may be sincere.”
- Date
- 1841
Meaning of “A friend is a person with whom I…”
Friendship permits unusual honesty because the relationship is secure enough to hold unguarded thought without constant performance.
Where does it come from?
Essays: First Series, “Friendship” (1841), verified against Project Gutenberg #2944 and the 1907 Merrill/Turpin page witness in Project Gutenberg #16643, printed page 126. Emerson names Truth as one of friendship’s two sovereign elements and says “A friend is a person with whom I may be sincere.” This collection preserves the essay’s idealizing moral argument rather than treating unrestricted disclosure as universally safe or appropriate.
