Friends show their love in times of trouble, not in happiness.

"Friends show their love in times of trouble, not in happiness." Thus wrote Euripides, the tragic poet of ancient Greece, whose words, born from the sorrow and grandeur of human life, still ring true through the centuries. In this timeless saying, he reveals the measure of true friendship — not in the laughter of feasts or the glow of fortune, but in the shadowed valleys of hardship. For it is easy to stand beside another when the sun shines and the table is full; but only those bound by genuine love will remain when storms rage, when loss descends, and when the heart trembles in despair. Such is the test of loyalty, and the mark of the soul that loves truly.

Euripides lived in an age when the gods themselves were thought to weave human fate with both kindness and cruelty. His plays, filled with passion and tragedy, spoke often of men and women betrayed by fortune, by power, and by those they trusted. From this deep understanding of suffering came his insight: that trouble reveals truth. When all is well, many will gather around us, drawn by pleasure, advantage, or shared delight. But when misfortune strikes — when the wealth is gone, the health falters, or the world turns cold — then the false friends fade away like mist before the morning sun. What remains are the few, the steadfast, whose love is not for our fortune, but for our being.

To understand this wisdom, one must see friendship not as a social bond, but as a sacred covenant between souls. True friends are like anchors in the storm: unseen when the sea is calm, but life-saving when the waves rise high. Their love does not depend on circumstance, for it springs from character — from compassion, loyalty, and shared virtue. Such love is rare, for it demands sacrifice; it asks not what it gains, but what it can give. The ancients called this philia, the friendship of the noble — the love that stands firm when others flee, that speaks truth when others flatter, that endures when the world crumbles.

Consider the story of Damon and Pythias, the ancient Greek friends whose loyalty became legend. When Pythias was condemned to death by the tyrant Dionysius, he asked to leave the city to settle his affairs, promising to return for his execution. The king scoffed, until Damon offered himself as a hostage in Pythias’s place. Days passed, and the king mocked Damon’s faith. But as the hour approached, Pythias returned — just in time to save his friend from death. So astonished was the tyrant by their steadfast friendship, that he pardoned them both, declaring that men capable of such love were worthy to live. In their story, Euripides’s truth lives eternally: friends show their love not in happiness, but in trouble, for only then can love prove itself pure.

This truth echoes through every age and every land. When prosperity fills our days, the world seems full of companions; yet hardship is the great purifier, burning away pretense and revealing the gold of true friendship beneath. Even in our own lives, we may recall those who drew near in times of sorrow — who stayed by our side when others turned away, who spoke comfort instead of judgment, who shared our pain instead of fleeing from it. These are not merely friends; they are the kindred souls that fate gifts us to remind us of the divine spark within humanity.

Yet Euripides’s words are not only an observation, but a challenge. They call upon each of us to become the kind of friend who loves in times of trouble. It is easy to rejoice with those who prosper; it is godlike to lift the fallen, to comfort the grieving, to stand firm beside those whom the world has abandoned. Such friendship does not require wealth or power — only a heart strong enough to share another’s burden. The truest test of character is not how one celebrates with friends, but how one suffers with them.

Lesson: True friendship is not measured by the warmth of shared laughter, but by the depth of shared sorrow. To find a friend who remains in your darkness is to find a treasure beyond all riches. And to be such a friend is to live with honor, for it is in helping others endure their storms that we prove our own strength of soul.

Practical action: When you see another in distress, do not wait to be asked — stand beside them. Offer not pity, but presence; not words, but understanding. Let your friendship be as fire in winter, giving warmth without demand. And when your own time of trouble comes, do not despair at those who vanish; instead, be grateful for the few who remain. For as Euripides teaches, the truest love does not shine in the light of fortune, but glows unbroken in the night of adversity — like a star that guides the lost traveler home.