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Meaning
The speaker says he most enjoys visiting people who have given him nothing and expects nothing in return. The line suggests that genuine affection or hospitality can exist without obligation, and that the best social relationships are not based on favors.
When It Was Said
1826
Who It Was Said To
Not documented yet.
Historical Context
Cited with the source "On the Spirit of Obligations" in The Plain Speaker (1826).
Source
"On the Spirit of Obligations"
Original Language & Translation
Originally said in English.
Did They Really Say It?
Listed with a cited source on Wikiquote; certainty is marked PROBABLE.
Did You Know?
It is cited with the source "On the Spirit of Obligations" on Wikiquote.
About William Hazlitt
English essayist and critic
William Hazlitt was an English essayist, drama and literary critic, painter, social commentator, and philosopher. He is known for his critical writing, and he is now ranked among the major figures in the history of English prose. He wrote on literature, drama, art, and public life, and is also regarded as the finest art critic of his time. Though highly respected by later historians of literature and art, his work is now little read and mostly out of print.
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