A brass hand-shaped door knocker, partly bright and partly green with tarnish, rests on burgundy velvet.

Original artwork, not a still

Sententiae

Publilius Syrus

Treat your friend as if he might become an enemy.

Behind the line

What it means

Our interpretation.

The advice urges caution even within friendship, since someone close might eventually become an opponent. Its guarded outlook puts a possible future rupture inside the present relationship. Trust is tempered by the thought of what a friend could do if loyalties changed.

Context reviewed

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