Letter to the Marquis de Lafayette
08/14/1784
https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu...
My first wish is to see this plague of mankind, war, banished from the earth.
It is better to be alone than in bad company.
It is far better to be alone, than to be in bad company.
True friendship is a plant of slow growth, and must undergo and withstand the shocks of adversity, before it is entitled to the appellation.