89. Internal Enmity

Even shade and water are unpleasant if they breed disease.
So, too, may relatives be unpleasant if they cause harm. 

Fear not the foe who is like a drawn sword; 
rather fear the friendship of an enemy who poses as kin. 

Dread hatred from within and defend yourself against it.
In calamitous times it will cut deeper than a potter's knife.

Hidden hatreds may lurk only in the mind,
yet among kin they can manifest many miseries. 

Hate hidden in a kinsman's heart will cause
many miseries, and more--it will kill a man.

When hatred arises, dissension destroys unity,
and men fall inescapably toward ever-ready death.

A house that harbors hatred will never be a united whole, 
though, like a vessel and its lid, it may appear to be one. 

As iron is worn away by frequent filing,
a family's strength is eroded by incessant inner frictions.

Internal dissension may seem as small as a split sesame seed,
yet there is enough power in it to destroy.

Living with those who cannot dwell in harmony
is like living in a hut with a deadly cobra.