Harmful Friendship
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uṟuvatu cīrtūkku naṭpum peṟuvatu / koḷvāruṅ kaḷvaru nēr.
“These are alike: the friends who ponder friendship's gain / Those who accept whate'er you give, and all the plundering train.”
“Behold the men that calculate how much they can gain by a friend: they are of the same class with harlots and thieves.”
Friendship weighed only by what may be obtained is, in that instrumental method, like the historical paid-sex exchange focused on payment and like theft watching only for opportunity.
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Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
உறுவது சீர்தூக்கும் நட்பும்= நட்பளவு பாராது அதனால்வரும் பயனளவு பார்க்கும் நட்டாரும்; பெறுவது கொள்வாரும்= கொடுப்பாரைக் கொள்ளாது விலையைக் கொள்ளும் பொதுமகளிரும்; கள்வரும்= பிறர் கேடுநோக்காது அவர் சோர்வு நோக்கும் கள்வரும்; நேர்= தம்முள் ஒப்பர்.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
Companions who measure friendship solely by what they can extract from it are identical in spirit to mercenary opportunists and opportunistic thieves.