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← De eruditione filiorum nobilium (On the Education of Noble Children)/Book 1 · De eruditione filiorum nobilium
Chapter 32Erud.1.32

De vita sociali et eligenda societate.

The Call to Loving Community

The chapter opens by teaching that social life is both natural and spiritually beneficial, calling the young to live graciously with others and bear their weaknesses willingly.

On the subject of living among others, blessed Bernard says in the sermon quoted above: 'You ought to live socially, so that you strive both to be loved and to love, presenting yourself as gracious and courteous — bearing the weaknesses of your brothers or companions, whether of character or of body, not only patiently but even willingly.' Thus far Bernard. And indeed living with others is also greatly beneficial for young people — provided, however, that the company they keep is good. For as Cicero says in his book on friendship, 'True companionship or friendship can never exist except among good people.' And living in society is also in harmony with nature itself — since, as the same author says in the same place, 'Nature loves nothing solitary.' . . 'Nor is anything more eager for its own kind and more grasping than nature itself.'

The Value of Companionship

The text argues that companionship is both pleasant and useful, warning against isolation and illustrating how good friends bring mutual delight and support.

The Apostle too counts certain people among the wicked precisely because they were without affection and without loyalty —✦ without natural affection — Romans 1.✦ This is why even Epicurus says: 'You should look more carefully at who you eat and drink with than at what you eat or drink.' For without a friend or companion, life is the entrails of a wolf and a lion.' Companionship itself is naturally delightful and welcome, according to Seneca in his letter to Lucilius: 'The possession of no good thing,' he says, 'is delightful without a companion.' But as Cicero says in Book One of De Officiis: 'When people share the same pursuits and the same desires, it comes about that each one takes as much delight in the other as in himself.' . . And so let one be made out of many. Finally, companionship is pleasant not only at home or at table, but also on the road, according to that saying of Macrobius in the book of the Saturnalia: 'An eloquent companion on the road,' he says, 'takes the place of a carriage.' And companionship is not only pleasant but also useful for many things. Whence it is said in Ecclesiastes: 'It is better for two to be than one, for they have the benefit of their companionship.'✦1 Then a threefold benefit is added, which arises from companionship, namely: support in misfortune, comfort or encouragement in peace or rest, and help in persecution. For this is what he means: 'If one falls' — that is, stumbles into bodily or spiritual misfortune — 'he is supported by the other,' namely:✦2 by counsel or aid or comfort, according to that word of James to the Thessalonians, chapter five: 'Comfort the fainthearted, support the weak, be patient toward all.'✦3

Threefold Benefits of Good Company

Drawing on Ecclesiastes and other authorities, the chapter describes three benefits of good companionship: support in misfortune, encouragement in peace, and help in persecution.

And in Galatians 6: "Carry one another's burdens, and so you will fulfill the law of Christ." And elsewhere: "Bearing one another with patience," etc.✦ On the other hand, regarding the solitary person — that is, one deprived of companionship — Solomon adds: "Woe to the one who is alone, because when that person falls, there is no one to raise them up" — in other words, no one to lift them back up from their fall — according to that passage in Hebrews 12: "Strengthen your drooping hands and your weak knees," etc.✦✦4 "and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed."✦ Then regarding the second benefit Solomon adds: "And if two sleep together" — that is, if they live together equally in peace and quiet — "they will warm each other" — that is, through mutual examples of doing good and avoiding evil.✦ Regarding the first benefit, Seneca says to Lucilius: "Spend time with those who are likely to make you better, and welcome those whom you can make better." Hence also Terence in the Adelphi: "I order you," he says, "to look at the lives of others as if in a mirror, and from them to take example for yourself."5 Quintilian also says, in the eighth book of his work on oratorical training, that 'it is the mark of a prudent person to make whatever is best in any situation his own, if he can.' On the second point, namely: As an example of shunning what is evil, it's clear that the rebuke or punishment of one person strikes fear into another, according to that saying of Proverbs 21: 'When the pestilent are punished, the little one will grow wiser.'✦ Hence in the Proverbs of the wise it is said that 'from another's fault a wise person corrects his own.' And so Ovid, in the third book of the Ars Amatoria: Learn from another's complaints to have feared for your own. And Tibullus in book II: Happy is the one who has learned from another's grief to be free of his own. And Cato, where he wrote above: What you should flee is a life that plays the teacher for us from the outside.6 Finally, concerning the third benefit, Solomon adds: 'And if anyone' — that is to say —✦ — 'whether a man or the devil has prevailed against one, two will resist him' — that is,✦ helping and consoling one another, and together interceding and praying for each other. For as it is read in Proverbs 18, 'A brother who is helped by a brother is like a strong city.'✦ After those three stated benefits, it is added that 'a threefold cord is not easily broken.'✦ And it is called a 'threefold cord' metaphorically. The aforementioned threefold benefit that comes to anyone from suitable companionship — or, as Solomon calls it, the 'threefold cord,' meaning the society of three — is as if he were to say: If two people living together gain so much manifold benefit from their companionship, how much more do three or more.✦ For a plurality of good companions produces what is best of all: a wealth of examples.

Learning from Others' Lives

The young are urged to learn from both the virtues and the failures of others, using their examples for moral correction and growth.

And so, for making progress in goodness, it is useful — as the saying of Cato goes: Learn from the example of many, so that you may follow the deeds they have done. And so it's sometimes useful for a young person to have better companions in character or knowledge, whom he can follow, but also to have less advanced ones, whom he can strive to surpass more and more, according to that line of Ovid in the third book of the Art of Love: Then the strong horse runs well once its stall is opened, when it has others to pass by and others to follow.7

Choosing Faithful and Suitable Friends

Prudence in choosing companions is stressed, especially faithfulness in word and commitment, illustrated by the famous example of Damon and Pythias.

Furthermore, in choosing a companion or association, prudence is necessary — both in preserving harmony and in persevering with constancy. Prudence, indeed, so that one who is faithful may be chosen — suitable or amiable in character, and equal in training or in studies. Regarding the first quality — that is, faithfulness — it is necessary that one be faithful both in word and in commitment. In word, that one not be lying, because falsehood is hateful to all rightly wise people. Whence it is said in Ecclesiasticus 20: 'A thief is better than the persistence of a lying man.' In commitment, however, there is a twofold obligation — of counsel, namely —8 and of the matter.9 Of counsel: that one not reveal it; of the matter: that one not defraud. Regarding the first, it is said in Proverbs 11: 'Whoever walks fraudulently reveals secrets, but whoever is faithful conceals what has been entrusted to the heart.'10 On the second point, Cicero says in the third book of his On Duties: 'The tightest bond of fellowship is to believe it's more against nature to deprive a person of some advantage for your own sake than to endure every hardship yourself.' On faithful fellowship, Valerius Maximus gives a praiseworthy example in his fourth book: 'Damon and Pythagoras's disciples,' he says, 'joined a friendship so faithful between them that when Dionysius the tyrant of Syracuse wanted to kill one of them, and that one had obtained from him the time — before leaving home to set his affairs in order — in which he would perish, the other did not hesitate to give himself to the tyrant in exchange for his friend's return.' . . But as the appointed day drew near and the other still hadn't returned, everyone condemned the guarantor as a reckless fool. But he declared he had no fear at all about his friend's steadfastness. And so at the very same moment and hour that had been set for Dionysius — the one who had received it — he arrived. The tyrant, struck with admiration at the spirit of them both, remitted the punishment their faithfulness had earned, and what's more, he welcomed the third man himself into the fellowship of their friendship as a companion of equal standing. .

Avoiding Harmful Company

The chapter warns that the young are easily shaped for good or evil by companions, so they must avoid bad company and corrupting examples.

. they would receive back, he asked. This, Valerius. And this example agrees with the word mentioned above, which is read in Ecclesiastes, namely:✦ A three-ply cord is not quickly broken.✦ Concerning the second quality, however, which must be sought in a companion, namely: Concerning moral aptitude or fitness, it is clear that boys especially, both the well-behaved and the undisciplined, must be provided with a good and well-ordered society. For the good, that is: They should not be corrupted by the bad examples and conversations of the wicked, nor even by the unruly, so that by the good examples of the upright they may be turned toward what is good. This is especially so because that stage of life is capable of being shaped in either direction, as it is written: 'With the holy you will be holy, and with the perverse you will be perverted.'11 Therefore Cato says: Stay close to good people, if you can't be the best yourself. When you look for a companion or a loyal friend, it's not the person's fortune you should seek but their character.1213 Especially among good people, fellowship is commendable, in keeping with that saying of Cicero in the second book of his De Officiis: 'Of all associations none is more outstanding, and none more firmly bound, than when people of similar good character are joined together in intimacy.' . . For nothing is more lovable, and nothing more binding, than the likeness of good character among good people. Matthew, in the book of Tobit, also agrees with this, saying: And the company of good people has a finer fragrance, . . for lilies blended with roses have an even richer scent. On the other hand, Plautus has this to say about bad company in the Aulularia: 'The hatred of fools and depraved people is more easily endured than their partnership.'14 For this reason the law forbids a donkey to be yoked with an ox — that is, a foolish person with a wise one, or an untrained person with an obedient one.✦15 And Amos chapter 3: 'Can two walk together unless they have agreed?'✦16 The apostle also agrees with this, writing to the Corinthians in chapter 6: 'What partnership does righteousness have with wickedness? Or what fellowship does light have with darkness? And what agreement does Christ have with Belial?'✦17 Indeed, even good people are for the most part turned away from what is good by the examples of the wicked, according to the passage in Ecclesiasticus chapter 13: 'Whoever touches pitch will be defiled by it, and whoever associates with the arrogant will put on pride.'18 And also by conversation, according to the passage in 1 Corinthians chapter 15: 'Evil conversations corrupt good manners.'✦19 And Augustine, in the second book of the Confessions, recalling the state of his own youth, laments that he had bad companions whose conversations were corrupting him, in these words: 'I was rushing headlong into such depths of company that among my contemporaries I was ashamed of being less disgraceful — those who, boasting about their own shameful acts, delighted to do things driven not only by the pleasure of the deed but also by the desire for praise.'20 But I, so that I might not be blamed, was becoming more and more vicious.21 What deserves blame except vice itself? But I, to escape being blamed, only grew more corrupt; and where there was no real offense by which I could match the depraved, I pretended to have done what I had not done, so that I would not seem more worthless in the very respect in which I was more innocent. . . See with what companions I journeyed through the streets of Babylon, and in what filth I wallowed as though in cinnamon and perfumes, and at what very center I clung the more tenaciously — where the invisible enemy trampled me and seduced me, because I was easy to seduce. These are Augustine's words. Moreover, in the same companion there are generally some things to be imitated and some to be avoided, just as when life abounds with thorns, fruit is gathered and the thorn is left behind, according to that saying of the Gospel in Matthew 7: 'Do people gather grapes from thorns?' Hence also Prosper in his book of epigrams:

Seeking Likeness in Character and Purpose

Finally, the text teaches that good companions should be similar in character and shared pursuits, and that such likeness strengthens friendship and moral growth.

Nature, whoever you are, do not scorn your own honor in any person you do not know; love it. Yet in this way, let harmony with the crooked avoid their ways, and let there be no treaties of peace with vices. Concerning the third point, however — namely, what is proper to be sought in a companion — regarding equality of studies or of practices, Ovid says in his book From the Black Sea:22 Namely, when natures are joined in some harmony, each person preserves the bonds of his own pursuit.23 The rustic loves the farmer, the soldier loves the one waging fierce wars, the sailor loves the helmsman of the uncertain ship.24 This is what Ecclesiasticus 13 says: 'Every creature loves its own kind, and every flesh will be joined to what is like itself.' In the same way, every person is drawn to associate with someone like himself. And in the same book, chapter 27: 'Birds flock together with those like themselves.' So too Symmachus the patrician, in his letter collection, says: 'Nature delights in equals, and everything that is like itself is familiar to it.' And as Seneca says in his book 'Natural Questions,' book… 'equal freedom,' which… …is fitting among companions: 'Among no one more ought it to be than among philosophers,' that is, lovers of wisdom. These are the points of prudence to keep in mind when choosing a companion.

Read the original Latin

Ceterum de uita sociali dicit beatus bernardus in sermone supradicto: ‘Socialiter debes viuere, ut amari studeas et amare, blandum te et affabilem exhibere, nec solum pacienter sed eciam libenter infirmitates fratrum siue sociorum, tam morum quam corporum supportare.’ Hec bernardus. Et revera vita socialis eciam pueris multum expedit, si tamen societas bona sit. Nam ut dicit tullius in libro de amicicia, ‘nunquam nisi inter bonos esse potest vera societas uel amicicia.’ ut autem uiuatur socialiter, concordat eciam natura, quoniam, ut idem ibidem dicit, ‘natura nichil solitarium amat . . . nec aliquid appetencius est sui similium atque rapacius quam natura.’

Apostolus quoque quosdam inter criminosos numerat, eo quod essent sine affectione et absque federe, sc. sociali, ad romanos io. Ideo dicit eciam epycurus: ‘Ante circumspiciendum est, cum quibus edas et bibas, quam quid edas uel bibas. Nam sine amico uel socio uisceracio leonis ac lupi uita est.’ Est eciam ipsa societas naturaliter ioconda et grata, iuxta illud senece ad lucilium: ‘Nullius,’ inquit, ‘boni possessio ioconda est sine socio.’ ut autem dicit tullius in libro de officiis io, ‘In quibus eadem studia uoluntatesque sunt eadem, in hiis fit, ut alter altero eque delectetur ut seipso . . .

sicque fiat unus ex pluribus.’ Denique non solum in domo uel in mensa societas est iocunda sed eciam in uia, iuxta illud macrobii in libro saturnalium: ‘Comes,’ inquit, ‘facundus in uia pro vehiculo est.’ Nec solum est ioconda sed eciam utilis ad multa. unde dicitur in ecclesiaste ivo: ‘melius est duos esse quam unum, habent enim emolumentum societatis sue.’ Deinde subiungitur triplex emolumentum, quod ex societate prouenit, videl. in casu fulcimentum, in pace uel quiete solacium uel fomentum, in persecutione adiumentum. Hoc est enim, quod dicit: ‘Si unus ceciderit,’ id est ad casum corporalem uel spiritualem titubauerit, ‘ab altero fulcitur,’ sc. consilio uel auxilio uel solacio, iuxta illud Ia ad thessalonicenses v: ‘Consolamini pusillanimes, suscipite infirmos, pacientes estote ad omnes.’

Et ad galathas vi: ‘Alter alterius honera portate et sic adimplebitis legem christi.’ Et alibi: ‘Cum paciencia supportantes inuicem etc.’ Econtra vero de solitario, id est societate destituto, subiungit salomon: ‘ve soli, quia cum ceciderit, non habet subleuantem,’ id est ipsum a casu erigentem, secundum illud ad hebreos xii: ‘Remissas manus et soluta genua exigite,’ sc. ad inuicem, ‘et gressus rectos facite pedibus vestris, ut non claudicans quis erret, magis autem sanetur.’ Postea de secundo emolumento subdit salomon: ‘Et si dormierint duo,’ id est in pace et quiete pariter vixerint, ‘fouebuntur mutuo,’ id est mutuis exemplis bonum faciendi et malum fugiendi. De primo dicit seneca lucilio: ‘Cum hiis uersare, qui te meliorem facturi sunt, et illos admitte, quos tu potes meliores facere.’ hinc et terencius in adelphis:

vitas — inquit — aliorum iubeo tanquam in speculum inspicere et ex aliis exemplum sibimet sumere.

Dicit eciam quintilianus in libro viiio de oratoria institucione, quod ‘prudentis est, quod in quoconque obtimum est, si possit, suum facere.’ De secundo, sc. exemplo malum fugiendi, patet, quod unius increpacio uel flagellacio terrorem incutit alteri, iuxta illud prouerbiorum xxi: ‘Mulctato pestilente sapiencior erit paruulus.’ unde in prouerbiis sapientum dicitur, quod ‘ex alterius uicio sapiens emendat suum.’ Hinc et ouidius de arte libro iiio:

Discite ab alterius vestris timuisse querelis.

Et tibullius libro ii:

Felix, quicumque dolore alterius didicit posse carere suum.

Et cato ubi supra:

Que fugias, uita est nobis aliena magistra.

Tandem uero de iiio emolumento adiungit salomon: ‘Et si quispiam,’ sc. homo uel dyabolus, ‘preualuerit contra unum, duo resistent ei,’ sc. inuicem adiuuantes et consolantes ac simul pro inuicem intercedentes aut orantes. ut enim legitur in prouerbiis xviii, ‘Frater, qui adiuuatur a fratre, est quasi ciuitas firma.’ Post illa uero tria emolumenta expressa subiungitur, quod funiculus triplex difficile rumpitur. Et apellatur ‘triplex funiculus’ methaphorice. Predictum triplex emolumentum, quod consequitur quis ex conpetenti societate, uel eciam triplicem funiculum uocat salomon societatem trium, ac si dicat: Si tam multiplex habent emolumentum societatis sue duo conuiuentes, multo magis tres aut plures. Bonorum namque pluralitas sociorum producit, quod optimum est, multitudinem exemplorum.

Ideoque ad proficiendum in bono est utilis, iuxta illud catonis:

Multorum disce exemplo, que facta sequaris.

Nec solum aliquando expedit puero meliores habere socios in moribus uel sciencia, quos sequatur, sed eciam minus prouectos, quos magis ac magis precedere nitatur, iuxta illud ouidii in libro de arte iiio:

Tunc bene fortis equus reserato carcere currit, cum quos pretereat, quosque sequatur habet.

Porro in eligendo socio uel societate necessaria est prudencia et in seruando concordia et in perseuerando constancia. Prudencia quidem, ut eligatur fidelis et moribus habilis uel amabilis et excercicio uel studiis equalis. De primo, id est de fidelitate, oportet, quod sit fidelis et in uerbo et in conmisso; in verbo ne sit mendax, quia omnibus recte sapientibus odiosa est mendacitas. unde dicitur in ecclesiastico xx, quod ‘pocior est fur quam assiduitas viri mendacis.’ In conmisso uero duplici, consilij sc. et rei. Consilij, ut non reuelet; rei, ut non defraudet. De primo dicitur in prouerbiis xi: ‘Qui ambulet fraudulenter, reuelat archana, qui autem fidelis est, celat animi conmissum.’

De secundo dicit tullius in libro de officiis iii: ‘Societatis arctissimum vinculum est arbitrari magis contra naturam esse hominem aliquid homini detrahere conmodi sui causa quam omnia subire inconmoda.’ De fideli societate ponit valerius libro iiiio exemplum laudabile: ‘Damon,’ inquit, ‘et physicas, pytagore discipuli, tam fidelem inter se iunxerunt amiciciam, ut cum alterum ex hiis dyonisius syracusanus tyrannus interficere uellet et is tempus ab eo, quo prius quam periret domum profecturus ordinaret res suas impetrasset, alter tandem pro eius reditu tyranno dare non dubitauit . . . Appropinquante autem prefinita die nec illo redeunte, unusquisque stulticie temerarium sponsorem dampnabat. At is nichil se de amici constancia metuere predicabat. Eodem itaque momento et hora dyonisio constituta, qui eam acceperat, superuenit et admiratus tyrannus amborum animum supplicium fidei remisit, eosque insuper, ut ipsum in societatem amicicie tercium sodalicij gradum . .

. reciperent, rogauit.’ Hec valerius. Et hoc exemplum consonat uerbo supradicto, quod in ecclesiaste legitur, sc. funiculus triplex difficile rumpitur. De secundo autem, quod in socio requirendum est, sc. de morum habilitate uel aptitudine, patet, quod pueris precipue tam bonis quam discolis prouidendum est de bona et moriginata societate. Bonis, scil.

ne malorum exemplis et colloquiis peruertantur, et eciam discolis, ut bonorum exemplis ad bonum conuertantur. Et hoc maxime, quoniam etas illa ad utrumlibet formabilis est, iuxta illud, quod scriptum est: ‘Cum sancto sanctus eris et cum peruerso peruerteris.’ Ideo dicit cato:

proximus esto bonis, si non potes optimus esse. Cum tibi uel socium uel fidum queris amicum, non tibi fortuna est hominis sed vita petenda.

Precipue quoque inter bonos conmendabilis est societas, iuxta illud tullij de officiis iio: ‘Omnium societatum nulla prestancior est, nullaque firmior quam cum boni moribus similes familiaritate coniuncti sunt . . . Nichil est enim amabilius nec copulacius quam morum similitudo bonorum.’ Huic eciam consonat matheus in libro de tobia dicens:

Et redolet melius iunctura bonorum, . . . plus namque sapiunt lilia mixta rosis.

Econtra uero de societate mala dicit plautus in aulularia: ‘Insipiencium et reproborum facilius sustinetur odium quam collegium.’ propter hoc in lege prohibetur iungi asinus cum boue, id est stolidus cum prudente uel rudis cum obediente. Hinc et amos iiio: ‘Numquid ambulabunt pariter duo, nisi eis conuenerit.’ Cui consonat eciam apostolus IIa ad corintheos vi dicens: ‘Que participacio iusticie cum iniquitate, aut que societas luci ad tenebras, que autem conuencio christi ad belial.’ Siquidem et boni plerumque malorum exemplis auertuntur a bono, secundum illud ecclesiastici xiii: ‘Qui tetigerit picem, inquinabitur ab illa, et qui conmunicauerit superbo, induet superbiam.’ Et eciam colloquio secundum illud Ia ad corinthios xv: ‘corrumpunt mores bonos colloquia praua.’ Hinc et augustinus in libro confessionum iio recolens statum iuuentutis sue conqueritur se malos socios habuisse, quorum colloquiis deprauabatur, hoc modo: ‘Tanta,’ inquit, ‘societate preceps ibam, ut inter coetaneos meos puderet me minoris dedecoris, quibus de flagiciis suis gloriantibus libebat facere non solum libidine facti sed eciam laudis. At ego, ne vituperarer, viciosior fiebam.

Quid dignum est vituperatione nisi vicium? At ego, ne vituperarer, viciosior fiebam, et ubi non suberat, quo admisso perditis equarer, fingebam me fecisse, quod non feceram, ne eo viderer abiectior, quo eram innocencior . . . Ecce cum quibus comitibus iter agebam platearum babylonie et in eius ceno volutabar tanquam in cynamomis et unguentis et in eius umbilico quo tenacius hererem, me calcabat inimicus invisibilis et seducebat me, quia seductilis eram.’ hec augustinus. Ceterum in eodem socio plerumque aliqua sunt imitanda et aliqua euitanda, sicut vita super spinas exuberante fructus colligitur et spina relinquitur, iuxta illud euangelicum in matheo vii: ‘Nunquid colligunt de spinis uuas?’ Hinc et prosper in libro epygrammatum:

Nature quisquis proprium non spernis honorem, in quoconque hominum, que tua nescis, ama. Sic tamen prauos ut uitet concordia mores, nullaque sint pacis federa cum viciis.

De tercio uero, quod in socio requiri conuenit, sc. de studiorum uel excerciorum parilitate dicit ouidius in libro de ponto:

Scilicet ingeniis aliqua est concordia iunctis et seruat studij federa quisque sui. Rusticus agricolam, miles fera bella gerentem, rectorem dubie nauita pupis amat.

hoc est quod dicitur in ecclesiastico xiii: ‘Omne animal diligit simile sibi et omnis caro ad similem sui coniungetur. Sic et omnis homo simili sibi sociabitur.’ Et in eodem xxvii: ‘volatilia ad sibi similia conueniunt.’ Hinc et symachus patricius in epistolari suo, ‘Natura,’ inquit, ‘gaudet equalibus et familiare sibi est omne, quod simile est.’ Et ut dicit seneca in libro de naturalibus questionibus io, ‘equa libertas,’ que sc. conuenit inter socios, ‘inter nullos magis esse debet quam inter philosophos,’ id est amatores sapiencie. Hec de prudencia, que in eligendo socio est obseruanda.

Scripture echoes

  1. ↩Rom.1.31 — senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless.
  2. ↩Rom.1.31 — senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless.
  3. ↩Eccl.4.9 — Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil.
  4. ↩Eccl.4.10 — For if they fall, the one will lift up his companion; but woe to the one who falls when there is no second one to raise him up.
  5. ↩1Thess.5.14 — And we urge you, brothers: admonish the disorderly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient toward all.
  6. ↩Col.3.13;Eph.4.2 — bearing with one another and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; just as the Lord forgave you, so also you must. Eph.4.2 — with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love
  7. ↩Eccl.4.10 — For if they fall, the one will lift up his companion; but woe to the one who falls when there is no second one to raise him up.
  8. ↩Heb.12.12 — Therefore, strengthen your drooping hands and your weak knees,
  9. ↩Heb.12.13 — And make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed.
  10. ↩Eccl.4.11 — Again, if two lie down together, they keep warm; but how can one be warm alone?
  11. ↩Prov.21.11 — When the scoffer is punished, the naive one becomes wise; but when the wise one is instructed, he receives knowledge.
  12. ↩Eccl.4.12 — And if one overpowers him who is alone, two shall stand against him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.
  13. ↩Eccl.4.12 — And if one overpowers him who is alone, two shall stand against him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.
  14. ↩Prov.18.19 — An offended brother is stronger than a fortified city, and quarrels are like the bars of a palace.
  15. ↩Eccl.4.12 — And if one overpowers him who is alone, two shall stand against him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.
  16. ↩Eccl.4.12 — And if one overpowers him who is alone, two shall stand against him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.
  17. ↩Eccl.4.12 — And if one overpowers him who is alone, two shall stand against him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.
  18. ↩Eccl.4.12 — And if one overpowers him who is alone, two shall stand against him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.
  19. ↩Deut.22.10 — You shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together.
  20. ↩Amos.3.3 — Do two walk together unless they have agreed to meet?
  21. ↩2Cor.6.14-2Cor.6.15 — Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? 2Cor.6.15 — What harmony has Christ with Beliar? Or what share does a believer have with an unbeliever?
  22. ↩1Cor.15.33 — Do not be deceived: bad company corrupts good character.

Notes

  1. 1 ↩The source text reads 'in ecclesiaste ivo' — 'ivo' is uncertain and may be a corruption or abbreviation. The quoted material matches Ecclesiastes 4:9. Scripture reference flagged for Moses resolution.
  2. 2 ↩The embedded quotation 'Si unus ceciderit... ab altero fulcitur' is a candidate scriptural allusion, likely echoing Ecclesiastes 4:10 or a related wisdom passage. Flagged for Moses resolution.
  3. 3 ↩The source text attributes this quotation to 'Ia' (abbreviation for James/Iacobus) at Thessalonians 5, but the quoted passage — 'Consolamini pusillanimes, suscipite infirmos, pacientes estote ad omnes' — matches 1 Thessalonians 5:14, which is Pauline, not Jacobine. The attribution 'Ia' may reflect a medieval abbreviation convention or a textual error. Flagged for Moses resolution.
  4. 4 ↩The Latin 'subleuantem' and 'erigentem' are both rendered with 'raise up / lift up' to preserve the parallel between the two clauses.
  5. 5 ↩The Latin tanquam in speculum ("as if in a mirror") frames others' lives as a reflective surface for self-examination — a speculum motif with a long devotional tradition. The rendering preserves the simile rather than collapsing it into a flat metaphor.
  6. 6 ↩The Latin 'Que fugias, uita est nobis aliena magistra' is compressed and syntactically ambiguous: 'que' may be a relative pronoun ('which') or an interrogative ('what?'), and 'aliena magistra' can mean 'a foreign/strange teacher' or 'a life alien to us serving as instructor.' The rendering above takes 'que fugias' as a relative clause with interrogative force and 'uita aliena magistra' as 'a life that teaches us what is not properly our own'—i.e., a way of living drawn from outside sources rather than from within. Alternative: 'What you must flee is a life that is for us a teacher of what is alien.'
  7. 7 ↩cum is ambiguous between temporal ('when'), causal ('since'), and concessive ('although') readings; temporal chosen as default.
  8. 8 ↩The abbreviation 'sc' (scilicet) is rendered as 'namely' to clarify the explanatory function. The sentence is fragmentary, continuing into the next sentence.
  9. 9 ↩This sentence is a continuation of the fragmentary thought in s5, completing the twofold distinction: counsel and matter.
  10. 10 ↩The Latin quotes Proverbs 11 with the sense of the Vulgate text about revealing secrets and concealing what is entrusted. The exact verse numbering and wording await Moses resolution.
  11. 11 ↩The quotation 'Cum sancto sanctus eris et cum peruerso peruerteris' is a candidate biblical allusion (cf. Vulgate Psalm 17:26–27 / 18:26–27). Final resolution deferred to tx-08 Moses stage.
  12. 12 ↩Cum rendered as 'when' (temporal); causal reading ('since') is also possible but temporal fits the advisory context.
  13. 13 ↩vita rendered as 'character' rather than 'life' to sharpen the contrast with fortuna (wealth/luck) and to convey moral quality, not mere biography.
  14. 14 ↩Plautus (not a Christian authority) is cited here as a classical witness to a moral truth — the company of the foolish and corrupt is harder to bear than outright hostility. The author uses this to frame the scriptural and patristic arguments that follow.
  15. 15 ↩The reference is to Deuteronomy 22:10 ('Thou shalt not plow with an ox and an ass together'). The author reads this as a moral allegory about incompatible companionship.
  16. 16 ↩The Vulgate reads 'Do two walk together unless they know each other?' (Amos 3:3). The author's Latin ('nisi eis conuenerit') suggests a slightly different textual tradition or paraphrase meaning 'unless they have come to an agreement.'
  17. 17 ↩The quotation is from 2 Corinthians 6:14–15. The author's Latin text shows minor Vulgate variants (e.g., 'participacio' for 'participatio', 'conuencio' for 'conuentio').
  18. 18 ↩The quotation is from Sirach (Ecclesiasticus) 13:1. The Latin 'picem' corresponds to pitch/tar, a vivid image of moral contamination through contact with evil.
  19. 19 ↩The quotation is from 1 Corinthians 15:33. The Latin 'colloquia praua' renders the Greek 'kōmōnēnai kakai' (evil communications/companionships).
  20. 20 ↩The Latin 'Tanta societate preceps ibam' is rendered as 'rushing headlong into such depths of company' — capturing both the intensity and the moral descent Augustine describes. The phrase 'libidine facti sed eciam laudis' captures the double motivation Augustine identifies: the thrill of the act itself and the craving for approval.
  21. 21 ↩This sentence is not part of the Augustine quotation but the author's own summary continuation of the Augustine passage. The full passage continues in the next section (Erud.1.32.25.s2), where the author describes fabricating sins to avoid appearing more innocent than his peers.
  22. 22 ↩The source text attributes a quotation to Ovid's 'Ex Ponto' (From the Black Sea). The specific quotation is not supplied in this section; it may follow in the next section or be referenced here as a heading-like citation.
  23. 23 ↩Federa (bonds) rendered as 'bonds' to capture the sense of a binding commitment or compact that each person maintains toward his own course of study or endeavor.
  24. 24 ↩Dubie (uncertainly/undertain) rendered as 'uncertain' modifying 'ship' to convey the perilous or unpredictable nature of the vessel, following the gloss's ablative-of-description reading with pupis.

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