# LXXX: Testing of Fitness for Friendship explained — The Kural > Chapter companion for The Kural by Thiruvalluvar. ## What happens This chapter emphasizes the critical importance of thoroughly testing a person's character, family background, and associations before forming a friendship. It warns that unexamined friendships lead to disaster, and advises cultivating only the pure and worthy while discarding the unworthy, even at a cost. ## Themes in this chapter ### Social Harmony and Ethics The chapter provides ethical guidelines for forming and maintaining friendships to ensure social harmony. ### The Vanity of Worldly Life Warns against false friends who abandon in times of trouble, highlighting the transient and deceptive nature of worldly associations. ## Character check-ins ### Thiruvalluvar Author of the Kural verses on testing friendship. ### the Kural The text containing the aphorisms on friendship. ## Key lines > There is no greater ill than making a friend without first testing him: for, once a friendship is formed, there is no giving it up for the man of heart. The worst mistake is to befriend someone without scrutiny, because a sincere person cannot easily break a bond once formed. _Emphasizes the irreversible nature of heartfelt friendship._ > Behold the man that maketh men his friends without previously testing them: he courteth disasters which will only end in his death. One who makes friends without testing invites ruin that leads to utter destruction. _Hyperbolic warning about the fatal consequences of careless friendship._ > Take into thy consideration the family of the man whom thou desirest to make thy friend, his virtues and his vices, and the whole range of his associates and connections: and then befriend him if he is worthy. Examine a potential friend's family, character, and social circle before deciding to befriend them. _Advocates holistic evaluation of a person's background._ > Behold the man who is born of a good family and who dreadeth disgrace: one ought to acquire his friendship even by paying a price for it if necessary. A person of noble birth who fears shame is so valuable that you should seek his friendship even at great cost. _Highlights the worth of a friend with integrity and honor._ > Look for the men who know the way of the wise and can reprove and chastise thee whenever thou go astray: and make them thy friends. Seek friends who are wise and willing to correct you when you err. _Values constructive criticism in friendship._ > There is a virtue even in misfortune: for it is the rod wherewith to measure thy friends. Adversity has a silver lining—it tests the loyalty of your friends. _Misfortune as a tool for discerning true friends._ > To discard the friendship of fools, that is veritable profit for a man. Ending a friendship with a fool is a real gain. _Prioritizes wisdom over mere companionship._ > Think not the thoughts that depress the heart: nor make the friendship of men who will abandon thee the moment thou art down. Avoid gloomy thoughts and friends who desert you in hardship. _Warns against fair-weather friends._ > The friendship of men that betray in the day of disaster would burn the heart that thinketh on it even at the moment of death. Remembering a friend's betrayal during crisis causes anguish even at the point of death. _Emphasizes the lasting pain of treachery._ > Cultivate with ardour the friendship of the pure; as to men that are unworthy of thee, discard thou their association even if it be by giving them a present. Eagerly befriend the virtuous, and sever ties with the unworthy, even if you must pay them off. _Advocates decisive action to maintain purity in relationships._ ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_kural_se/chapters/lxxx-testing-of-fitness-for-friendship - Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_kural_se - All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_kural_se/chapters