Tractatus duo

From this it follows that one testifies to the other how much he desires to be loved by him whom he himself loves, and how much he himself loves and cherishes him. Among other mortals, that charity and conjunction of minds can often remain silent and un-testified, but among friends, it certainly is not accustomed to be so. Therefore, they interpose a testimony and a pact regarding their mutual affection and will toward one another, as if it were the living voice of the heart of both, and a firmer and more lasting bond and foundation of perpetuity.

But the name of God intervenes, by whose authority alone every firm and stable friendship is contracted. For they have no better witness, nor a greater and more certain pledge and argument of their will, that they could produce. For whom better than God would they produce as a witness of their promise? Whom as a sharper and more severe avenger of a violated one? For they desire this consensus, which they mutually give and receive, to be perpetual and not momentary, stable and not fleeting and mutable. Therefore, they interpose the name of God, than which no foundation is more stable and firm. And thus, both Jonathan and David are recorded to have entered into friendship before God (1 Samuel 23:18), and elsewhere friendship is called a "pact" (Psalm 55:20). Furthermore, it is handed down regarding the same Jonathan that he gave to David, as a bond and pledge of the initiated friendship, not only the name of God but also a visible gift and offering: namely, his belt, sword, bow, cloak, and the garments he had at that time. For that act makes them not only mindful of the pact and promise but also more religious observers and keepers of it.