“Vir amabilis ad societatem magis amicus erit quam frater.”
“A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.”
“A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who stays closer than a brother.”
“A man of many companions may be ruined, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.”
“He that maketh many friends doeth it to his own destruction; But there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.”
Brother. The ties of nature are not so strong as those of friendship. (Calmet) — Hebrew, “a man that hath friends must shew himself friendly; and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.” (Protestants) (Haydock) — Ut ameris ama. (Martial)
See here how men often expose themselves by that very thing by which they hope to gain applause. 1. Some take a pride in being quick. They answer a matter before they hear it, hear it out, nay, as soon as they but hear of it. They think it is their honour to take up a cause suddenly; and, when they have heard one side, they think the matter so plain that they need not trouble themselves to hear the other; they are already apprized of it, and masters of all the merits of the cause. Whereas, though a ready wit is an agreeable thing to play with, it is solid judgment and sound wisdom that do business. 2. Those that take a pride in being quick commonly fall under the just reproach of being impertinent. It is folly for a man to go about to speak to a thing which he does not understand, or to pass sentence upon a matter which he is not truly and fully informed of, and has not patience to make a strict enquiry into; and, if it be folly, it is and will be shame.