Friendship improves happiness, and abates misery, by doubling our joys, and dividing our grief.

The saying captures a classic ethical claim associated with ancient discussions of friendship: companionship amplifies positive experience and mitigates suffering through shared emotional life. “Doubling” joy suggests that pleasure becomes richer when witnessed and affirmed by another, while “dividing” grief points to the relief that comes from sympathy, counsel, and practical support. The line also implies that friendship is not merely ornamental but a stabilizing social good—one that changes the felt weight of events by distributing them across a relationship. Even if the phrasing is later, the idea aligns with the Ciceronian tradition that treats friendship as a central ingredient of a flourishing life.