80.3 Choosing Friends

 80.3 Choosing Friends

 

Question:

            Is there a yardstick to judge a friend? 

Answer:

Even in misfortune there is something good, for it is the

yardstick to measure friends.                                                 (Couplet – 796)

கேட்டினும் உண்டோ ர் உறுதி கிளைஞரை

நீட்டி அளப்பதோர் கோல்.                                            (குறள் – 796)

 

Explanation:

Valluvar’s answer to the question of whether there is a yardstick to measure a friend is “yes. Misfortune is the yardstick.” As he had stated in Couplet 788, “Like a hand that goes to the rescue when a garment slips, providing spontaneous help to a friend when he faces adversity is true friendship.” The Greek historian Plutarch mentioned the same idea (45 AD – 120 AD). He says, “Adversity s the only balance to weigh friends.”