Read that in High School - agree, it's a love story; albeit a very dark one.

But to the OP, if by, "What is the value of friendship?" you mean, what does he/she owe me in exchange for my regard, the answer is nothing. As Brain's quote will instruct you, friendship is something you feel; not a contract requiring mutual approbation. Choose your friends wisely and you'll have no need for these questions.

 

more?

Pride is the recognition of the fact that you are your own highest value and, like all of man’s values, it has to be earned—that of any achievements open to you, the one that makes all others possible is the creation of your own character—that your character, your actions, your desires, your emotions are the products of the premises held by your mind—that as man must produce the physical values he needs to sustain his life, so he must acquire the values of character that make his life worth sustaining—that as man is a being of self-made wealth, so he is a being of self-made soul—that to live requires a sense of self-value, but man, who has no automatic values, has no automatic sense of self-esteem and must earn it by shaping his soul in the image of his moral ideal, in the image of Man, the rational being he is born able to create, but must create by choice—that the first precondition of self-esteem is that radiant selfishness of soul which desires the best in all things, in values of matter and spirit, a soul that seeks above all else to achieve its own moral perfection, valuing nothing higher than itself—and that the proof of an achieved self-esteem is your soul’s shudder of contempt and rebellion against the role of a sacrificial animal, against the vile impertinence of any creed that proposes to immolate the irreplaceable value which is your consciousness and the incomparable glory which is your existence to the blind evasions and the stagnant decay of others.

 

One gains a profoundly personal, selfish joy from the mere existence of the person one loves. It is one’s own personal, selfish happiness that one seeks, earns and derives from love.

A “selfless,” “disinterested” love is a contradiction in terms: it means that one is indifferent to that which one values.

Concern for the welfare of those one loves is a rational part of one’s selfish interests. If a man who is passionately in love with his wife spends a fortune to cure her of a dangerous illness, it would be absurd to claim that he does it as a “sacrifice” for her sake, not his own, and that it makes no difference to him, personally and selfishly, whether she lives or dies.

 

To love is to value. Only a rationally selfish man, a man of self-esteem, is capable of love—because he is the only man capable of holding firm, consistent, uncompromising, unbetrayed values. The man who does not value himself, cannot value anything or anyone.

To say ‘I love you’ one must know first how to say the ‘I.’

 

A “selfless,” “disinterested” love is a contradiction in terms: it means that one is indifferent to that which one values.

 

Does that mean I get to drive your Viper?

 

So $100, and you never get your friendship because someone ***** you over, and PayPal does nothing to make it right?

 

I loaned a guy 200 dollars i thought was my friend. He avoided me from that day on. So if you want to know what who friend is, lend them over 100 dollars.

 

I don't have friends anymore. I'm married. :(

 

This.

 

This thread turned kind of interesting. Sounds like a lot of people share the same values of friendship. Still not even sure I want to post any specific details about why I started this.

Guess I'll summarize that I was enough of a fool to let one person **** me over one too many times and finally got fed up with it. I'm just really tired of being nice to people and getting dicked over in 'thanks.' Some may not believe it but I really am (actually, was) a very nice guy. Much as I _REALLY_ hate Nickelback, that chode got one thing right: "Nice guys always lose."

 

****. My friends don't even take PayPal.

 

You have to draw the line somewhere. Especially when the benifit is/always has to be in their favor.

 

It's always a bad idea to loan ANYONE money. The loan will ALWAYS put stress on the relationship.

Either give it away as a gift or don't do it at all.

 

My redneck assed east Tennessee dad taught me a few things that are good through life. It goes as follows: "If you **** me once, shame on you, If you **** me twice shame on me" Give them one chance, If they don't find some way to make it right, they will extend the same treatment to you again.
BTW I had someone keep screwing me over til i was in jail for his **** up. Seriously..... cut the cord.

 

It's not mine, but you can come drive it if you want.

Both vipers are for sale now. If you want to drive one, it has to be soon.

This is really good advice.

 

I'm thinking that we might be friends but I am not exactly sure. Send me $200 and we will find out...

 

If someone asks to borrow $20, give it to them. If you never see them again, it was probably worth it.

 

I had to borrow $400 from my roommate and friend in college to make my tuition payment. At that point, the number one thing I looked forward to was paying him back a week later.

 

Smartest line in this thread. I learned this the hard way twenty years ago, but have been doing it this way ever since. This simple rule eliminates one of the more annoying and unnecessary complications of life and relationships.