Meaning of “Friendship is certainly the finest balm for the…”

Separation can expose the depth of attachment that ordinary familiarity concealed, making loss a painful measure of how much the bond mattered.

The phrase holds affection and pain together: separation hurts precisely because the relationship being left is valued.

The sonnet treats grief as attachment plus the pain attached to what has been lost, refusing to separate sorrow cleanly from love.

Paul makes forgiveness reciprocal and communal, showing that restoration can require people to align their response rather than preserve separate grievances.

The maxim treats friendship as a form of value that cannot be measured like property because losing the person also removes shared history and mutual presence.

The advice refuses to make sorrow a reason for emotional withdrawal, presenting openness to love as worthwhile even when attachment can also bring pain.