Love is blind; friendship closes its eyes.

Not seeing someone’s faults and seeing them clearly and letting them pass are different acts, and the second takes more of you. Early affection does the work for free, because you genuinely cannot make out what is wrong. A long friendship knows exactly what is wrong and declines to make it the subject. That choice has to be made again and again, which is why it counts for more.

Think of the fault in a friend you could describe in one sentence. Ask whether raising it would improve anything or only even a score. Some things are worth saying once, and most are worth setting down quietly.