Very often friendship is a case of ‘birds of the same feather’ flocking together. Sometimes, however, a friendship springs up between a bad man and a good man. So the ways of friendhsip also are mysteriouss and inscrutable. Sometimes opposites or extremes meet. Even bad man with undesirable qualities have friends.

Let’s take examples of friendship that are pleasing to the heart of dozen people. In those cases, let’s ask ourselves, what qualities are essential in a friend? The first of these qualities and the sum of them all may be described as friendliness. And what is friendliness? It is not easy to give a definition of freindliness but we all can recognise the quality. Friendliness evokes friendliness. It transcends limitations and pecularities or differences of tastes and temperaments, preferences and prolivities.

A friends should have forbearance and tolerance. He should not be short-tempered or peevish. Friendship fourishes best when there is mutual give and take. Friends sometimes differ, but they should agree to differ. A friend should be lively, he should have a good joke or a lovely remark for appropriate occasions. To be with such a friends is to have cares and dullness of spirit chased away. Liveliness begets liveliness. When a lively person enters a room the company feels as if another candle has been lighted.

A friend should be a good talker and a good listener. He should be able to make us feel an interest and a zest in life. His very coming lifts us feel our spirits and puts us in an agreablemood. Another valued quality in a friend is the rare gift of understanding. A condition of fruitful or rewarding friendship is not to have too many friends. One should have only as many friends as on one’s finger tips. We should have fit friends though few.

Friendship is an art. Tact, sympathy, the gift to share joys and sorrows, adaptability, cheerfulness, the ability to make us feel a sense of moral support in ours friend’s presence, sincerity, companionableness, kindliness, unselfishness, warm-heartedness, lovability and lovingness , the gift for those little, nameless, unremembered acts of kindness and of love which lend such a charm to life are the qualities of an ideal friend. There are times and occasions when friendship is sorely tested and tried. Friendship should be able to stand those tests and trials.