The acquisition of a true friend is by no means an easy task. But it is a task that cannot be dispensed with. Persons who enjoy a life spent in loneliness uncheered by friendship are exceptions to the rule; such a life is miserable, and the climax of all the evils complained of by Heman the Ezrahite (Ps. lxxxviii. 19) is: “Lover and friend hast thou put far from me, and darkness is mine acquaintance.” Job in his great sufferings longs for “the love which is shown to the unhappy by his friend” (Job vi. 14). Friendship being one of our most valuable possessions, it must be well guarded and cultivated, lest it be lost or weakened. “Thine own friend and thy father’s friend, forsake not” (Prov. xxvii. 10). “Let thy foot be seldom in thy friend’s house, lest he be weary of thee, and so hate thee” (ibid. xxv. 17). True friendship can be extended only to a few; but those who are not our friends need not be our enemies. They are all our fellow-men, and our conduct towards them is to be guided by the principle, “Love thy fellow-man as thyself.” We are distinctly commanded, “Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart” (Lev. xix. 18), “brother” having here the same meaning as fellow-man. Enmity, like friendship, comes frequently unawares; we dislike or even hate a person without knowing why. But it is our duty, as soon as such an ill-feeling has stolen into our heart, to search for its origin; and this being done, we shall generally feel ashamed of having allowed our heart to be invaded by such an unworthy intruder. We must keep away from evil-doers, and not associate with wicked people; but this is a very different thing from hating our neighbour. The pious wish, “May sinners cease to exist, and the wicked be no more” (Ps. civ. 35), is explained in the Talmud in the words of Beruria, daughter of Rabbi Meir, as follows: “May sins cease to exist, and the wicked will be no more.” We often conceive just indignation at the misdeeds of our neighbours, and cannot well separate the doer from the deed. But we ought in such cases of indignation to examine ourselves, whether the source of our indignation is pure, or has its root in selfishness. Such an analysis of our motives would soon purify our heart of all ill-feeling.