Imitation 1 89 verses
1Open not thine heart to every man, but deal with one who is wise and feareth God.
2Be seldom with the young and with strangers.
3Be not a flatterer of the rich; nor willingly seek the society of the great.
4Let thy company be the humble and the simple, the devout and the gentle, and let thy discourse be concerning things which edify.
5Be not familiar with any woman, but commend all good women alike unto God.
6Choose for thy companions God and His Angels only, and flee from the notice of men.
7We must love all men, but not make close companions of all.
8It sometimes falleth out that one who is unknown to us is highly regarded through good report of him, whose actual person is nevertheless unpleasing to those who behold it.
9We sometimes think to please others by our intimacy, and forthwith displease them the more by the faultiness of character which they perceive in us.
