The divine life in three treatises

5. Cross opinions also are like to alienate many of your friends. This age hath over and over again given the world as full and sad demonstrations of the power of Cross opinions, to alienate friends, and make divisions, as most ages of the world have ever had. If your friend be proud, it's wonderful how he will slight you, and withdraw his Love, if you be not of his mind. If he he zealous, he is easily tempted, to think it a part of his duty to God, to disown you if you differ from him, ⟨p. 307⟩as taking you for one that disowneth the truth of God, and therefore one that God himself disowneth; or at least to grow cold in his affection toward you, and to decline from you, as he that thinks you do from God. As agreement in opinions doth strangely reconcile affections; so disagreement doth secretly and strangely alienate them; even before you are well aware, your friend hath lost possession of your hearts, because of an unavoidable diversity of apprehensions: When all your friends have the same intellectual complexion and temperature, and measure of understanding with your selves, then you may have hope to escape the ruptures which unlikeliness and differences of apprehensions might else cause.

6. Moreover, some of your friends may so far overgrow you in wisdom, or wealth, or honour, or worth in their own conceits, that they may begin to take you to be unsuitable for them, and unmeet for their further special friendship. Alas poor man, they will pity thee that thou art no wiser, and that thou hast no greater light to change thy mind as fast as they, or that thou art so weak and ignorant as not to see what seems to them so clear a truth; or that thou art so simple to cast away thy self by crossing them that might prefer thee, or to fall under the displeasure of those that have power to raise or ruin thee: But if thou be so simple, thou mayest be the object of their lamentation, but art no familiar friend for them. They think it fittest to close and converse with those of their own rank and stature, and not with such shrubs and children, that may prove their trouble and dishonour.

6. Moreover, some of your friends may so far overgrow you in wisdome, or wealth, or honour, or worth in their own conceits, that they may begin to take you to be unsuitable for them, and unmeet for their further special friendship. Alas poor man, they will pitty thee that thou art no wiser, and that thou hast no greater light to change thy mind as fast as they, or that thou art so weak and ignorant as not to see what seems to them so clear a truth; or that thou art so simple to cast away thy self by crossing them that might prefer thee, or to fall under the displeasure of those that have power to raise or ruine thee: But if thou be so simple, thou mayest be the object of their lamentation, but art no familiar friend for them. They think it fittest to close and converse with those of their own rank and stature, and not with such shrubs and children, that may prove their trouble and dishonour.