on the death of four very close friends

To have a good friend is the purest of all God’s gifts, for it is a love that has no exchange of payment. It is not inherited, as with a family. It is not compelling, as with a child. And it has no means of physical pleasure, as with a mate. It is, therefore, an indescribable bond that brings with it a far deeper devotion than all the others.
- Frances Farmer

What made us friends in the long ago When first we met?
Well, I think I know;
The best in me and the best in you
Hailed each other because they knew
That always and always since life began
Our being friends was part of God’s plan.
- George Webster Douglas

definition

What is a friend? I will tell you. It is a person with whom you dare to be yourself. Your soul can be naked with him. He seems to ask of you to put on nothing, only to be what you are. He does not want you to be better or worse. When you are with him, you feel as a prisoner feels who has been declared innocent. You do not have to be on your guard. You can say what you think, so long as it is genuinely you. He understands those contradictions in your nature that lead others to misjudge you. With him you breathe freely. You can avow your little vanities and envies and hates and vicious sparks, your meannesses and absurdities and, in opening them up to him, they are lost, dissolved on the white ocean of his loyalty. He understands. You do not have to be careful. You can abuse him, neglect him, tolerate him. Best of all, you can keep still with him. It makes no matter. He likes you – he is like fire that purges to the bone. He understands. He understands. You can weep with him, sin with him, laugh with him, pray with him. Through it all – and underneath – he sees, knows and loves you. A friend? What is a friend? Just one, I repeat, with whom you dare to be yourself. – C. Raymond Beran

Friends

Never injure a friend, even in jest.  –Cicero

The best part of one’s life consists of his friendships.  –Abraham Lincoln

Be true to your word, your work, and your friend.
Henry David Thoreau

It is chance that makes brothers but hearts that make friends.
Von Geibel

True friendship between two people is infinite and immortal.  –Plato

But if the while I think on thee, dear friend, all losses are restored and sorrows end.  –William Shakespeare

I have learned that to be with those I like is enough.  –Walt Whitman

Be slow in choosing a friend, slower in changing.  –Benjamin Franklin