A friend is a lot of things, but a critic he isn't.--Bern Williams 

A friend may well be reckoned the masterpiece of nature.--Ralph Waldo Emerson 

A friend who is far away is sometimes much nearer than one who is at hand. Is not the mountain far more awe-inspiring and more clearly visible to one passing through the valley than to those who inhabit the mountain?--Kahlil Gibran 

Friends are an aid to the young, to guard them from error; to the elderly, to attend to their wants and to supplement their failing power of action; to those in the prime of life, to assist them to noble deeds.--Aristotle 

Friends are those rare people who ask how we are and then wait to hear the answer.--Ed Cunningham 

Friends, books, a cheerful heart, and conscience clear are the most choice companions we have here.--William Mather 

A friendship can weather most things and thrive in thin soil--but it needs a little mulch of letters and phone calls and small silly presents every so often--just to save it from drying out completely.--Pam Brown 

Friendship doubles our joy and divides our grief.--Swedish proverb