“My son to find one man in a 1,000 who is your true friend for reasons other than self-interest is one of the greatest wonders of the world. Examine all who call themselves your friends or who make a show of friendship and you’ll find the reason why this is so. If they’re not motivated by self-interest on their own account, then they’ll be acting in the interests of some other friend whom they need; or they are your friends so that by singling you out they can annoy some third party.”
RKS Literature: Letter from Leopold Mozart to His Son 4December1777, Salzburg: A True Friend is One of the World’s Greatest Wonders
