When I was younger I always wondered why my best friend wasn’t my brother. We always did things together, went everywhere together and it was always a ton of fun. Though I’m sure my young mind wouldn’t be able to comprehend the profound meanings of true friendship, I didn’t know back then that a friend is simply a family you get to choose.
Related: The 6 Types of Friends You Need in Your Life and their Antitheses
Friends make everything better, and they make the world become a much more interesting place. But of course not all friend are true friends. True friends are people who deserve a special place in hearts and a special tab in our contacts folder. Today I bring you 34 inspirational quotes about true friendship.
1. “Don’t walk behind me, I may not lead. Don’t walk in front of me, I may not follow. Just walk beside me and be my friend.” by Albert Camus
2. “A friend is someone who knows all about you and still loves you” by Elbert Hubbard
3. “It is not a lack of love, but a lack of friendship that makes unhappy marriages.” by Friedrich Nietzsche
4. “Friendship is born at that moment when one man says to another: ‘What! You too? I thought that no one but myself . . .’” by C.S. Lewis
5. “Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art…. It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things which give value to survival.” by C.S. Lewis
6. “I would rather walk with a friend in the dark, than alone in the light.” by Hellen Keller
7. “We’ll be Friends Forever, won’t we, Pooh?’ asked Piglet.Even longer,’ Pooh answered.” by A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh
8. “True friendship is when you walk into their house and your WiFi connects automatically.” by Unknown
9. “True friendship multiplies the good in life and divides its evils. Strive to have friends, for life without friends is like life on a desert island… to find one real friend in a lifetime is good fortune; to keep him is a blessing.” by Unknown
10. “True friendship comes when the silence between two people is comfortable.” by David Tyson Gentry
11. “Friendship consists in forgetting what one gives and remembering what one receives.” by Alexander Dumas
12. “Be slow to fall into friendship; but when thou art in, continue firm & constant.” by Socrates
13. “Friendship is like money, easier made than kept.” by Samuel Butler
14. “A friend is one that knows you as you are, understands where you have been, accepts what you have become, and still, gently allows you to grow.” by William Shakespeare
15. “Anybody can sympathize with the sufferings of a friend, but it requires a very fine nature to sympathise with a friend’s success.” by Oscar Wilde
16. “I don’t need a friend who changes when I change and who nods when I nod; my shadow does that much better.” by Plutarch
17. “Life is an awful, ugly place to not have a best friend.” by Sarah Dessen
18. “It’s the friends you can call up at 4 a.m. that matter.” by Marlene Dietrich
19. “When someone loves you, the way they talk about you is different. You feel safe and comfortable.” by Jess C. Scott
20. “There is nothing I would not do for those who are really my friends. I have no notion of loving people by halves, it is not my nature” by Jane Austen
21. “If I had a flower for every time I thought of you…I could walk through my garden forever.” by Alfred Tennyson
22. “The truth is, everyone is going to hurt you. You just got to find the ones worth suffering for.” by Bob Marley
23. “Lots of people want to ride with you in the limo, but what you want is someone who will take the bus with you when the limo breaks down.” by Oprah Winfrey
24. “Do I not destroy my enemies when I make them my friends?” by Abraham Lincoln
25. “An insincere and evil friend is more to be feared than a wild beast; a wild beast may wound your body, but an evil friend will wound your mind.” by Buddha
26. “Friendship is the hardest thing in the world to explain. It’s not something you learn in school. But if you haven’t learned the meaning of friendship, you really haven’t learned anything.” by Muhammad Ali
27. “There is a magnet in your heart that will attract true friends. That magnet is unselfishness, thinking of others first; when you learn to live for others, they will live for you.” by Paramahansa Yogananda
28. “Love is blind; friendship closes its eyes.” by Friedrich Nietzsche
29. “No person is your friend who demands your silence, or denies your right to grow.” by Alice Walker
30. “Friends are the family you choose.” by Jess C. Scott
31. “You can always tell a real friend: when you’ve made a fool of yourself he doesn’t feel you’ve done a permanent job.” by Laurence J. Peter
32. “The real test of friendship is can you literally do nothing with the other person? Can you enjoy those moments of life that are utterly simple?” by Eugene Kennedy
33. “Friendship improves happiness, and abates misery, by doubling our joys, and dividing our grief.” by Marcus Tullius Cicero
34. “In prosperity our friends know us; in adversity we know our friends.” by John Churton Collins