174. To conclude, the same duties are not owed to
all. Nor is regard ever paid to persons, though the occasion and
the circumstances of the case are generally taken into consideration,
so that one may at times have to help a neighbour rather than
one’s brother. For Solomon also says: “Better
is a neighbour that is near than a brother far
off.” Prov. xxvii. 10. For this reason a man generally trusts
himself to the good-will of a friend rather than to the ties of
relationship with his brother. So far does good-will prevail that
it often goes beyond the pledges given by nature.