In the words of William James, it is your friends who make your world.

And here at Stylist.co.uk we love to celebrate the amazing women and men who are always there to turn to – no matter how hard life can be at times.

With that in mind we have gathered up the best quotes on the importance of friendship. We challenge you not to get misty eyed as you flick through these pearls of wisdom.

Amy Poehler, comedian (pictured above with Tina Fey and Maya Rudolph)

"Most of the women in your life will outlast the men in your life. The Saturday Night Live ladies – Maya Rudolph, Rachel Dratch, Tina – and I text pictures of our kids back and forth all the time. It keeps us connected. As my nanny used to say, the older you get, the more important it is to know people that knew you when."

Marlene Dietrich, actress

“It's the friends you can call up at 4 a.m. that matter.”

Sylvia Plath, author

“There is nothing like puking with somebody to make you into old friends.”

Anaïs Nin, author

“Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born.”

Marilyn Monroe, actress

“Friendship is the bestiest thing that comes to life . Friends will always be there for you. Don't worry about the fakes, worry about the people who had your back from the start and never treated you wrong.

Always remember they are your real friends, don't never take them as granted because one day you're going to lose a good friend by the way your actions are when you see a good friend stick to that person .”

Diane Von Furstenberg, designer

“When a woman becomes her own best friend life is easier.”

Alice Walker, author

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

Nicole Richie, designer

“True friends are like diamonds – bright, beautiful, valuable, and always in style.”

J.K. Rowling, author

'(Addressing Harvard graduates) I have one last hope for you, which is something that I already had at 21. The friends with whom I sat on graduation day have been my friends for life. They are my children’s godparents, the people to whom I’ve been able to turn in times of trouble, friends who have been kind enough not to sue me when I’ve used their names for Death Eaters.

At our graduation we were bound by enormous affection, by our shared experience of a time that could never come again, and, of course, by the knowledge that we held certain photographic evidence that would be exceptionally valuable if any of us ran for Prime Minister.'

Charlotte Brontë, author

“Friendship however is a plant which cannot be forced -- true friendship is no gourd spring up in a night and withering in a day.”

Images: Rex