Friendship Day Quotes That Won’t Make You Cringe

Friendship Day quotes have a tendency to border on the saccharine. Who doesn’t, after all, get a little sentimental when they have an entire day to celebrate their favorite person to shush people in the movie theater with?

But Friendship Day quotes don’t have to be covered in pink glowing hearts or transposed after images of hugging babies. The topic of camaraderie has inspired everyone from Romantic poets like Lord Byron to gonzo journalists like Hunter S. Thompson. Even the snarliest of us to love still seem to find someone out there to enjoy — or at least put up with — our company.

In fact, the benefits of friendship are proven by science. People with strong social ties are not only more likely to live longer, they also generally release more oxytocin — the chemical that makes us happy. In 2015, science journal Nature published a study finding higher pain tolerance in test subjects with larger social networks.

Here’s 14 Friendship Day quotes for the cynic that you can’t live without, because all that scoffing alone can give you a sore throat.

“Friendship is everything. Friendship is more than talent. It is more than the government. It is almost the equal of family.”

Don Corleone in Mario Puzo’s The Godfather

“I don’t need a friend who changes when I change and who nods when I nod; my shadow does that much better.”

Plutarch, Greek biographer and essayist

“The man of knowledge must be able not only to love his enemies but also to hate his friends.”

Friedrich Nietzsche, German philosopher

“If we listened to our intellect, we’d never have a love affair. We’d never have a friendship. We’d never go into business, because we’d be cynical. Well, that’s nonsense. You’ve got to jump off cliffs all the time and build your wings on the way down.”

Ray Bradbury, author of Fahrenheit 451

“Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art…. It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things which give value to survival.”

C.S. Lewis, author of the Chronicles of Narnia series

“No person is your friend who demands your silence, or denies your right to grow.”

Alice Walker, author of The Color Purple

“The capacity for friendship is God’s way of apologizing for our families.”

Jay McInerney, author of Bright Lights, Big City

“Friendship is always a sweet responsibility, never an opportunity.”

Khalil Gabrin, Lebanese-American poet, painter, writer

“The glory of friendship is not the outstretched hand, not the kindly smile, nor the joy of companionship; it is the spiritual inspiration that comes to one when you discover that someone else believes in you and is willing to trust you with a friendship.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson, transcendentalist essayist and poet

“The best mirror is an old friend.”

George Herbert,Welsh poet, orator, priest

“No friendship is an accident. “

O. Henry,short story writer

“Don’t flatter yourself that friendship authorizes you to say disagreeable things to your intimates. The nearer you come into relation with a person, the more necessary do tact and courtesy become. Except in cases of necessity, which are rare, leave your friend to learn unpleasant things from his enemies; they are ready enough to tell them.”

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr., poet, physician, polymath

“Betrayal is the only truth that sticks.”

Arthur Miller, playwright of The Crucible

“Friends should be like books, few, but hand-selected. “

C.J. Langenhoven, South African poet

Initially pushed by the greeting card industry in 1919, Friendship Day struggled to gain ground in the U.S. until it was officially declared by Congress in 1935. While it never reached the same heights as other major American holidays, it has seen a resurgence with the invention of social media. Not only are users given a reminder, but the platform gives them a means to send well-wishes to multiple friends, reported India.com.

International Day of Friendship was officially recognized by the United Nations in 2011, but has been celebrated in several places around the world for the better part of a century. In some countries, such as Argentina, the day holds a significance on par with Valentine’s Day in the U.S., though elsewhere it has not caught on with quite the same fervor. While the UN deigned July 30 Friendship Day, it is celebrated on the first Sunday of August in many countries around the world, including the U.S. and India.

In general, Friendship Day holds the expressed purpose of reconciliation and looking past differences to bridge the gaps between cultures, ethnic groups, religions, nations and other divisions that exacerbate conflict and frustrate progress around the world. It doesn’t, however, have to be limited to some greater rift between two parties. It can be as simple as reaching to someone you haven’t talked to for awhile to send them a quote or a memory that reminds you of them.

Were these Friendship Day quotes still too cheesy for you and your preferred partner in eye-rolling? Share your favorite below in the comments.

[Featured Image by View Apart/Shutterstock]