Unlike Courtilz de Sandras, Dumas does not present the four companions as blood brothers or comrades-in-arms, but rather as brothers of the heart. He associates them with the now world-famous motto: « All for one, one for all. » Despite differences in their social background and noble status, they are united by camaraderie; they share moments of joy and hardship and they eat, drink, play and fight together.
“Indeed, four men like them, devoted to one another from their purses to their lives, always supporting each other, never retreating, carrying out decisions made together—whether alone or as a group, four arms threatening the four cardinal points or turning toward a single point—would inevitably, by stealth or openly, by mining, trenching, cunning or force, find their way toward the goal they wished to reach, no matter how well guarded or distant it was. The only thing that astonished d’Artagnan was that his companions had not yet thought of this.”
— The Three Musketeers
