[74,25] οὐκοῦν τοῖς γε τοιούτοις ὅσον ὑπὸ ἀνάγκης καὶ τελέως ὀλίγον δεῖ χρῆσθαι, τὸ πλέον αὐτὸν ἐγρηγορότα καὶ φυλάττοντα, ὡς τοὺς Ἀχαιοὺς τὸν Ἕκτορά φησιν ὁ ποιητής· ὁ δὲ ἰδρείῃ πολέμοιο ἀσπίδι ταυρείῃ κεκαλυμμένος εὐρέας ὤμους σκέπτετ´ ὀϊστῶν τε ῥοῖζον καὶ δοῦπον ἀκόντων ὁμοίως ἐν τῷ βίῳ δεῖ τὴν φρόνησιν καὶ τὴν ἐπιστήμην προβεβλημένους καὶ καλυφθέντας αὐτῇ φεύγειν καὶ φυλάττεσθαι τὴν τῶν ἀνθρώπων κακίαν καὶ τὰς τέχνας καὶ τὰς ἐπιβουλάς, αἷς (26) εἰώθασι χρῆσθαι. καθόλου δὲ θαυμαστόν, εἰ τὸ μὲν φαγεῖν ἀπὸ τῆς αὐτῆς τραπέζης ἐμποδὼν ἔσται τῇ πονηρίᾳ καὶ νὴ Δία τὸ πιεῖν ἀπὸ τοῦ αὐτοῦ κρατῆρος καὶ τὸν αὐτὸν λύχνον ὁρᾶν· τὸ δὲ τὸν ἥλιον βλέπειν τὸν αὐτὸν καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς αὐτῆς τρέφεσθαι γῆς οὐδεὶς ὑπολογίζεται τῶν πονηρῶν· ἀλλὰ τὸ μὲν πανδοκεῖον ἢ νὴ Δία οἶκος ἕτερος ἐκ λίθων καὶ ξύλων ᾠκοδομημένος συγκίρνησιν ἀνθρώπους καὶ δύναται συνάγειν εἰς φιλίαν, ὥσπερ Ὀδυσσεὺς ἀξιοῖ· αἰδεῖσθαι δὲ μέλαθρον· ὑπωρόφιοι δέ τοί εἰμεν. οὕτως ἡγεῖται τὴν σκηνὴν ἀξιωτέραν αἰδοῦς, καὶ ταῦτα ἐκ ξύλων τῶν ἐν τῇ πολεμίᾳ γεγονυῖαν, ἤπερ αὐτούς. ὁ δὲ σύμπας οὐρανός, ὑφ´ ᾧ πάντες ἐσμὲν ἀρχῆθεν, οὐδὲν ὠφελεῖ πρὸς ὁμόνοιαν οὐδὲ ἡ τῶν ὅλων κοινωνία θείων οὖσα καὶ μεγάλων, ἀλλὰ τοὐναντίον (27) ἡ τῶν μικρῶν καὶ οὐδενὸς ἀξίων. καὶ ὁ μὲν ἴδιος ἑκάστῳ πατήρ, πολλάκις οὐδενὸς ἄξιος πρεσβύτης, μέγα δίκαιον, ὥστε μὴ ἐπιβουλεύειν ἀλλήλοις τοὺς ἐκ τοῦ αὐτοῦ γένους· ὁ δὲ κοινὸς ἁπάντων ‚ἀνδρῶν τε θεῶν τε‛, ἐξ οὗ πάντες γεγόναμεν, οὐ κατὰ Λάχητα ὢν οὐδὲ κατὰ Σίμωνα, οὐ δύναται κατασχεῖν οὐδὲ κωλῦσαι τὴν ἀδικίαν τῶν ἀνθρώπων. καὶ μὴν ὅτι γε τοῖς λόγοις οὐκ ἂν πιστεύοι τις τοῖς ὑπὲρ τῆς φιλίας, τοῦτο γὰρ λοιπόν ἐστι, φανερὸν δήπου. (28) γελοῖον γὰρ ἀργύριον μὲν δανείζοντα τοῖς πέλας μὴ ῥᾳδίως ἄν τινα πιστεῦσαι λόγῳ μόνῳ, ἀλλὰ μαρτύρων δεῖσθαι καὶ γραμμάτων καὶ πολλοὺς καὶ ταῦτα παραβαίνειν. - - - τί οὖν; φησίν, οὐκ ἤδη τινὲς ἐγένοντο φίλοι τῶν πρότερον; οἷον πᾶς ἂν λέγοι τοὺς {ἡμιθέους} θρυλουμένους τούτους, Ὀρέστην καὶ Πυλάδην καὶ Θησέα καὶ Πειρίθουν καὶ Ἀχιλλέα καὶ Πάτροκλον; εἰ δ´ οὖν τις συγχωρήσειεν ἀληθῆ τὴν δόξαν εἶναι ταύτην, δῆλον ὡς τρεῖς ἂν εἶεν φιλίαι γεγονυῖαι ἐν τοσούτῳ χρόνῳ, ἐν ὅσῳ πλεονάκις ἂν εἴποι τὸν ἥλιον ἐκλελοιπέναι.

[74,25] Accordingly, one should have dealings with such persons only in so far as one is compelled to do so and extremely little at that, what is more, keeping wide awake one's self and on guard, as the poet says of the Achaeans and Hector, "But he, experienced in war, with shield Of ox-hide covered his shoulders broad and watched The whir of arrows and the thud of darts." Similarly in our life we must employ prudence and understanding as a shield and, covered by it, flee and guard against men's villainy and the tricks and plots which they are wont to use. (26) But, speaking generally, it would be surprising if eating from the same table were to prove a bar to villainy, and, forsooth, drinking from the same mixing-bowl and seeing the same lamp, when, on the other hand, seeing the same sun and being nourished by the same earth does not enter into the reckoning of any rogue ; why, the tavern or, by Zeus, any other house made of stones and timbers mixes human beings together and can bring them together in friendship, just as Odysseus thinks is proper : "Respect the house ; we're underneath thy roof." Thus he thinks that the hut—a hut, too, built of wood grown on hostile soil—is worthier of respect than the men themselves. Yet the whole sky, beneath which we all have been from the beginning, is of no avail toward producing concord, neither is our partnership in the universe, a partnership in things divine and majestic, but only, on the contrary, our partnership in things which are petty and worthless. (27) Again, every man's own father—often an ineffectual old man—is a great force for righteousness to prevent those of the same family from plotting against each other ; while the common father of all, of " both men and gods," he from whom we all have our being, not a creature such as Laches or Simon, cannot check or prevent the unrighteousness of men! Indeed, that one could not trust mere words about friendship—for this is the only point remaining- is no doubt clear. (28) For it is absurd that, when lending money to one's neighbours, no one would lightly put faith in word alone, but instead requires witnesses and writings—and many do violence to even these— {and, on the other hand, that the mere profession of friendship should suffice}. " What ! " somebody objects, " did not the men of former times have any friends ? For instance, what would you say of these demigods that are on the lips of all : Orestes and Pylades, Theseus and Peirithoüs, Achilles and Patroclus ? " Well, if one were to admit that the popular belief about these is true, there would be three friendships that had occurred in a period of time so extensive that in it one could say that the sun had gone into an eclipse quite a number of times.