A British publication once offered a prize for the best definition of a friend. Among the thousands of answers received were the following:

• “One who multiplies joys, divides grief, and whose honesty is inviolable.”
• “One who understands our silence.”
• “A volume of sympathy bound in cloth.”
• “A watch that beats true for all time and never runs down.”

The winning definition read:

• “A friend is the one who comes in when the whole world has gone out.”

Bits and Pieces, July, 1991