On the Three Members of Domestic Society

...are bound. And God willed this honor to be next to His own: a fact that even Phocylides Phocylides was an ancient Greek poet famous for his moral maxims. was not ignorant of.

Typotius, in On Laws, folio 174, states that there is no surer sign of impiety than the neglect of parents. See also Richter, Economic Axioms 44 and following. However, the love of parents with which they embrace their children is more burning than, conversely, the love of children toward their parents. Hence the Arabs have a proverb: My heart is upon my son; but my son's heart is upon a stone. original: "Cor meum super filio est; at Cor filij mei super lapide," cited from the Arabic proverbs of the legendary sage Lokman, number 27. And the elegant Robert Garnier in Bradamante, Act 2, final scene:

But should a son who has been established in a public Office Magistratu a position of high civil authority yield his place to a father who remains a private citizen? See Henning Arnisaeus, Political Doctrine, chapter 5, folio 117; Aegidius Strauchius, Ethical Disputations, decade 10, final thesis; and my own Commentary on the title regarding Justice and Law, book 2, question 4. Furthermore, Baldus and Ludovicus Romanus note on the law regarding summoning to court original: "ad l. 8. de in Ius vocand." that even if a son is adorned with an "Ecclesiastical Dictatorship"—that is, if he is elected Supreme Pontiff—he must nonetheless show reverence to his father. Matthew chapter 22, verse 43 is relevant here. For this reason, the Doges of Venice carry a cross on their mitre, so that the father might not be considered to show [undue] honor to the son The author suggests the father honors the cross on the son's head rather than the son himself, preserving the family hierarchy.. Guazzo, in Dialogues, folio 312. Elsewhere, the love of parents is deservedly preferred over the reverence that a vassal owes to a lord. Consequently, a son is not compelled to aid his lord against his own father. See Kirchner, Orations 7 and 8, and my Commentary on the Laws regarding Justice and Law, final question. Hence also the curses of parents are rarely without effect. Richter, Historical Axiom 291 and Economic Axiom 19.

VI. A part of parental devotion pietas the Roman and legal concept of duty and affection toward family and state is that children must nourish parents worn out by old age—a duty that even animals lacking reason do not neglect. Hence Aristophanes in The Birds:

For us Birds, this is the ancient Law,
Written in the tablets of laws which the Storks keep;
For when the Father Stork has nourished the little storks, and they have now become fledglings,
The offspring must return this favor, so that they nourish the old ones in turn. This refers to the "stork-law" (lex ciconiaria), a common classical metaphor for children caring for elderly parents.

Rabbi Solomon Refers to Rashi, the famous 11th-century Jewish commentator. teaches how parents are to be honored. What is the honor that a son owes to a father and mother? He gives them food and drink, puts on their shoes, and leads them in and out. Regarding this, a Hebrew source says: We read, "Honor God from your wealth," and "Honor father and mother." God is to be honored if you have wealth; parents are to be honored whether you have it or not. For if you have nothing, you must beg from door to door for them, as reported by Jan Drusius in his notes on Matthew.