sely connected with us.

Now one man's connection with another may be measured in reference to
the various matters in which men are engaged together; (thus the
intercourse of kinsmen is in natural matters, that of fellow-citizens
is in civic matters, that of the faithful is in spiritual matters,
and so forth): and various benefits should be conferred in various
ways according to these various connections, because we ought in
preference to bestow on each one such benefits as pertain to the
matter in which, speaking simply, he is most closely connected with
us. And yet this may vary according to the various requirements of
time, place, or matter in hand: because in certain cases one ought,
for instance, to succor a stranger, in extreme necessity, rather than
one's own father, if he is not in such urgent need.

Reply Obj. 1: Our Lord did not absolutely forbid us to invite our
friends and kinsmen to eat with us, but to invite them so that they
may invite us in return, since that would be an act not of charity
but of cupidity. The case may occur, however, that one ought rather
to invite strangers, on account of their greater want. For it must be
understood that, other things being equal, one ought to succor those
rather who are most closely connected with us. And if of two, one be
more closely connected, and the other in greater want, it is not
possible to decide, by any general rule, which of them we ought to
help rather than the other, since there are various degrees of want
as well as of connection: and the matter requires the judgment of a
prudent man.

Reply Obj. 2: The common good of many is more Godlike than the good
of an individual. Wherefore it is a virtuous action for a man to
endanger even his own life, either for the spiritual or for the
temporal common good of his country. Since therefore men engage
together in warlike acts in order to safeguard the common weal, the
soldier who with this in view succors his comrade, succors him not as
a private individual, but with a view to the welfare of his country
as a whole: wherefore it is not a matter for wonder if a stranger be
preferred to one who is a blood relation.

Reply Obj. 3: A thing may be due in two ways. There is one which
should be reckoned, not among the goods of the debtor, but rather as
belonging to the person to whom it is due: for instance, a man may
have another's goods, whether in money or in kind, either because he
has stolen them, or because he