418. The reason why good is the neighbour is that good belongs to the will, and the will is the being (esse) of a person's life. The truth in the understanding is also the neighbour, but only so far as it is the product of good in the will. For good in the will takes on form in the understanding and there makes itself visible in the light of reason. All experience goes to show that good is the neighbour. Does anyone love a person except for what his will and understanding are like, that is, for the goodness and righteousness in him? For example, does anyone love a king, a prince, a duke, a provost or governor or magistrate of any rank, or any kind of judge, except for the [righteousness and]* judgment they display in speech or action? Does anyone love a bishop or any church minister or a person in holy orders, except for his learning, uprightness of life and zeal for saving souls? Does anyone love the general of an army, or any of the officers under his command, except for a combination of bravery and prudence? Does anyone love a trader except for his honesty? Or a workman or servant except for his faithfulness? To go further, does anyone love a tree except for its fruit, a piece of ground except for its fertility, a stone except for its value, and so on? The extraordinary thing is that not only does an upright man love goodness and fairness in another, but so does a dishonest man, because he knows that in dealing with him he need have no fear of losing his reputation, rank or wealth. But the dishonest man's love of good is not love of the neighbour, for the dishonest man does not inwardly love any other, except in so far as they serve his purposes. Loving the good in another out of the goodness in oneself is the real love for the neighbour; then the goodness in each kisses the other and establishes a mutual bond.
* It would appear that the text is incomplete at this point.