Amic. 24.1Sed cum tot signīs eadem nātūra dēclāret quid velit anquīrat dēsīderet, tamen obsurdēscimus nesciō quō modō nec ea, quae ab eā monēmur, audīmus.But though nature declares by so many signs what she wishes, seeks and longs for, we somehow grow deaf and do not hear the warnings she gives us. Amic. 24.1Est enim varius et multiplex ūsus amīcitiae multaeque causae suspīciōnum offēnsiōnumque dantur, quās tum ēvītāre, tum ēlevāre, tum ferre sapientis est.For the practice of friendship is varied and manifold, and many causes for suspicion and offence are given, which it is the part of a wise man sometimes to avoid, sometimes to make light of, sometimes to bear. Amic. 24.1Ūna illa subeunda est offēnsiō ut et ūtilitās in amīcitiā et fidēs retineātur;One kind of offence must be faced, so that both usefulness and good faith may be kept in friendship; Amic. 24.1nam et monendī amīcī saepe sunt et obiūrgandī, et haec accipienda amīcē, cum benevolē fīunt.for friends must often be both admonished and rebuked, and these things must be taken in a friendly spirit when they are done with goodwill.
Amic. 24.89Sed nesciō quō modō vērum est, quod in Andriā familiāris meus dīcit: " obsequium amīcōs, vēritās odium parit.But somehow it is true, what my friend says in the Andria: 'Compliance breeds friends, truth breeds hatred.' Amic. 24.89" Molesta vēritās, sīquidem ex eā nāscitur odium, quod est venēnum amīcitiae, sed obsequium multō molestius, quod peccātīs indulgēns praecipitem amīcum ferrī sinit;Truth is troublesome, if indeed hatred springs from it, which is the poison of friendship, but compliance is much more troublesome, since by indulging faults it lets a friend be carried headlong; Amic. 24.89maxima autem culpa in eō, quī et vēritātem aspernātur et in fraudem obsequiō impellitur.but the greatest fault lies with the man who both scorns the truth and is driven by compliance into ruin. Amic. 24.89Omnī igitur hāc in rē habenda ratiō et dīligentia est, prīmum ut monitiō acerbitāte, deinde ut obiūrgātiō contumēliā careat.In this whole matter, then, reason and care must be used: first, that admonition be free of harshness, and second, that rebuke be free of insult. Amic. 24.89In obsequiō autem, quoniam Terentiānō verbō lubenter ūtimur, cōmitās adsit, assentātiō vitiōrum adiūtrīx procul āmoveātur, quae nōn modo amīcō, sed nē līberō quidem digna est;In compliance, however, since we gladly use Terence's word, let there be courtesy, and let flattery, the helper of vices, be put far away, for it is unworthy not only of a friend but even of a free man; Amic. 24.89aliter enim cum tyrannō, aliter cum amīcō vīvitur.for one lives in one way with a tyrant and in another with a friend.
Amic. 24.90?Cuius autem aurēs clausae vēritātī sunt, ut ab amīcō vērum audīre nequeat, huius salūs dēspēranda est.But the man whose ears are so closed to truth that he cannot hear the truth from a friend: his safety is to be despaired of. Amic. 24.90?Scītum est enim illud Catōnis, ut multa: melius dē quibusdam acerbōs inimīcōs merērī, quam eōs amīcōs, quī dulcēs videantur;For that saying of Cato's is shrewd, like many of his: that bitter enemies deserve better of some people than those friends who seem sweet; Amic. 24.90?illōs vērum saepe dīcere, hōs numquam.the former often speak the truth, the latter never. Amic. 24.90?Atque illud absurdum, quod eī, quī monentur, eam molestiam quam dēbent capere nōn capiunt, eam capiunt quā dēbent vacāre.And it is absurd that those who are admonished do not feel the annoyance they ought to feel, and do feel the one from which they ought to be free. Amic. 24.90?Peccāsse enim sē nōn anguntur, obiūrgārī molestē ferunt;For they are not distressed that they have done wrong, but they take it ill that they are rebuked; Amic. 24.90?quod contrā oportēbat dēlictō dolēre, correctiōne gaudēre.whereas, on the contrary, they ought to grieve at the fault and rejoice at the correction.