Hesiod, creator; Homer, creator; Evelyn-White, Hugh G.
(Hugh Gerard), d. 1924, translator
that they may be gracious to you in heart and spirit, and so you may buy another's holding and not another yours. Call your friend to a feast; but leave your enemy alone; and especially call him who lives near you: for if any mischief happens in the place,
neighbors come ungirt, but kinsmen stay to gird themselves.[*](I.e.neighbors come at once and without making preparations, but kinsmen by marriage (who live at a distance) have to prepare, and so are long in coming.) A bad neighbor is as great a plague as a good one is a great blessing; he who enjoys a good neighbor has a precious possession. Not even an ox would die but for a bad neighbor. Take fair measure from your neighbor and pay him back