Time doesn't take away from friendship, nor does separation.

The line asserts a durable, non-transactional view of friendship: genuine bonds are not measured by proximity or frequency of contact. “Time” and “separation” are the usual forces that erode relationships—forgetting, drifting, competing obligations—but the quote denies their power when affection and mutual recognition are real. Implicitly, it distinguishes friendship from convenience or habit; what is merely situational fades, while what is rooted in character and shared understanding persists. The phrasing also carries a consolatory function, offering reassurance to those parted by distance, travel, or life changes that absence need not equal loss.