Friendship

Black, Hugh, 1868-1953Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.0

Word count: 200K words
Chapters: 21

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Friendship by Hugh BlackAuthor: Black, Hugh, 1868-1953,Language: English, Class: BJ: Philosophy, Psychology, Religion: Ethics, Social usages, Etiquette, Religion, Release Date: Mar 20, 2007

Editor's review

Friendship is a short book by Hugh Black that discusses friendship in an essayistic style; it belongs to the English-language literature of ethics and personal cultivation. It does not rely on systematic argument but offers gentle reflections on sincerity, trust, companionship, separation, and personal influence, in plain and lucid language with a sermon-like exhortatory tone. For today's readers, its value lies in offering an entry point for slowing down and examining human relationships: how friendship forms, how it is worn away by daily life, and how it is sustained through self-discipline and candor. The views carry the moral tone of the early twentieth century; readers may take what is sincere without wholly accepting its normative judgments. It suits short reading before bed or during commutes; read while recalling your own experiences of friendship, and you may also copy out sentences to share with friends.

Who it's for

A good fit for

General readers who enjoy English essays and want to reflect on relationships in short pieces
Readers interested in friendship, trust, and personal cultivation who are willing to reflect on themselves
People who need gentle writing to adjust their pace and suit fragmented reading time
Learners who want to practice English reading and prefer clear, lyrical prose

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting systematic sociological or psychological research on the mechanisms of friendship
Readers who prefer strong plot-driven narratives and fast-paced content
Readers who do not accept a moral exhortatory tone and want complete value neutrality

Reading tips

Read a short section each day; afterward write down the name of a friend and one small incident, turning reading into self-reflection.
Copy out sentences that move you and review them at the weekend, organizing them into notes on your own view of friendship.
As you read, note the differences between the author's moral exhortations and today's views, distinguishing what can be learned from what is limited by the times.
You might arrange to read with friends, discussing one theme each time, such as trust, distance, or lasting companionship.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book academic research or an essay?

It is closer to an essay in the literature of ethics and personal cultivation, discussing friendship through gentle discussion and exhortation rather than systematic academic argument. There is little data or theoretical framework; the focus is on attitude and character. Readers wanting academic research may find the argument insufficient, while readers wanting essays will find it easy to enter.

How difficult is the English, and is it suitable for reading practice?

The language is generally plain and the sentences are not overly long, with themes close to daily life, so it suits people with some English foundation for reading practice. But the style is somewhat old and the tone exhortatory; it is best to read short sections at a time rather than rushing. With abstract sentences, grasp the general meaning first and then look back.

Is the view of friendship in the book still applicable today?

Its discussions of sincerity, trust, and mutual fulfillment remain inspiring, but some of its moral tone and role expectations carry the social background of the early twentieth century. Readers can retain its sincere questions while keeping a distance from its normative judgments, testing them against their own experience.

Is it suitable as a gift or for shared reading?

It suits friends who enjoy English essays and are willing to read slowly, and it also works for two or three people reading together. In shared reading, you can discuss one theme each time, such as distance between friends, loyalty, and separation, which is more rewarding than reading alone. It may not be suitable if the other person prefers strong plots or academic argument.

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About the author

Black, Hugh, 1868-1953 Author · Scottish-American · 1868–1953

Hugh Black (1868–1953) was a Scottish-born American minister and writer. Public information about his early life and education is limited, and the known facts of his career center on his ministry and his writing. He taught at Union Theological Seminary in New York and was long engaged in theological education and the communication of ideas. Black wrote essays, including Friendship, drawing mainly on everyday ethics and human experience. His prose is plain and earnest, carrying the tone of a pastor's exhortation and suited to general readers. His essays do not aim at systematic theory but are distinguished by gentle observation and reflection, and they hold a place in early twentieth-century English essay writing. The library currently holds only one of his works, Friendship.