... I remember you and recall you without effort, without exercise of will; that is, by natural impulse, indicated by a sense of duty, or of obligation. And that, I take it, is the only sort of remembering worth the having. When we think of friends, and call their faces out of the shadows, and their voices out of the echoes that faint along the corridors of memory, and do it without knowing why save that we love to do it, we content ourselves that friendship is a Reality, and not a Fancy -- that it is built upon a rock, and not upon the sands that dissolve away with the ebbing tides and carry their monuments with them.

Summary

This quote conveys the profound nature of true friendship. The speaker emphasizes that genuine remembrance of friends should come effortlessly, driven by duty and a sense of obligation. They argue that such remembering, which evokes familiar faces and voices without conscious effort, demonstrates the strength and validity of the friendship. By contrast, fleeting memories founded on superficial connections are transient and unreliable, like sand washed away by the tides. The quote suggests that deep friendship is rooted in enduring connections and solid foundations, making it a true reality rather than a mere fantasy.

Topics