However free he be from vice,
No man on Earth has not his price,
Be it for money, power, lust,
There’s none will not betray thy trust,
Or share they secret should there rise
Occasion when to compromise
A friend most dear or principle
Will send his honour to the wall.
The safest course in life, my son,
Is never to trust anyone.
Not even me, thy father dear,
(Nor thine own self, I fear).
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