BUT must we then be bound in deathless Bands,
And still obey whate'er a Friend commands?
Aid him to gain what he unjustly craves?
No — Leave the Man, who Truth and Virtue leaves.
Should furious CATILINE some Plot devise,
To ruin Thousands, that himself might rise;
The Laws of Honour, Truth, and Conscience show,
'Tis Friendship to the World to be his Foe.
Or, should a Friend basely betray his Trust,
To pardon him were to yourself unjust:
For, as the Wool, with Crimson colour'd o'er,
Never acquires its native Whiteness more;
So he who breaks his Faith, will ne'er obtain
Your Credit, nor his Innocence again.
If otherwise he disoblige his Friends,
(For where's the perfect Man, who ne'er offends?)
Try if his Ear will kind Reproof endure;
And, if the Balm of Counsel work a Cure,
O'erlook the Failure: All  that ;
Let  resent a Trespass,  forgive.
Yet let the pardon'd Friend not, many times,
Proceed in Folly, and repeat his Crimes.
Tho' purest Gold a vast Extent will bear,
Yet purest Gold will break, if stretch'd too far:
And Friends may bear some Slips from Wisdom's Rule;
But who can pardon the  Fool?