What does it mean to be a true friend? What qualities do your very best friends have that attract you to them? We all likely have different answers to these questions. But for all of us, true friendship is something to be cherished. It’s something to take care of. Like all good things, it’s something we should occasionally take time to reflect on. After all, counting our blessings regularly makes us happier.

With this in mind, we put together a list of quotations about friendship. As you read through them, take a few moments to consider them and be grateful for your village.

12 Quotes About Friendship

“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.”
— William Shakespeare

“Walking with a friend in the dark is better than walking alone in the light.”
— Helen Keller

“There is nothing on this earth more to be prized than true friendship.”
— Thomas Aquinas

“Keep away from those who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you believe that you too can become great.”
— Mark Twain

“Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another: ‘What! You too? I thought I was the only one.'”
— C.S. Lewis

“Friendship…is not something you learn in school. But if you haven’t learned the meaning of friendship, you really haven’t learned anything.”
— Muhammad Ali

“Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into a friend.”
— Martin Luther King, Jr.

“Find a group of people who challenge and inspire you; spend a lot of time with them, and it will change your life.”
— Amy Poehler

“My best friend is the man who in wishing me well wishes it for my sake.”
— Aristotle

“It is not a lack of love, but a lack of friendship that makes unhappy marriages.”
— Friedrich Nietzsche

“The greatest compliment that was ever paid me was when someone asked me what I thought, and attended to my answer.”
— Henry David Thoreau

“Be slow to fall into friendship; but when thou art in, continue firm & constant.”
— Socrates