In all of your actions, in all of your works and in your conversation, imitate the good, emulate the saints. Carefully consider the example of the just, and seek to imitate them. […]
Do not feign a life of holiness. Be as you show yourself to be. Show what you are, not only by your posture, but also by your comportment. Seek simplicity in your bearing, purity in your movements, gravity in your gestures and honesty in your conduct. Let your bearing show no trace of shamefulness, sensuality, petulance, insolence or levity, for the soul is glimpsed by the body’s demeanour. Bodily attitude is a symbol of the mind; the gestures of the body reveal its state of soul. Consequently, your gait should not display superficiality, and your conduct should not offend your neighbour.
Do not set yourself up as a spectacle for others, do not let them denigrate you, do not associate with the vain. Avoid the evil, beware of the iniquitous, reject the slothful, flee the dishonest and expel the sluggard. Shun the rabble of men, especially those who by their age are more inclined to vice.
1}Unite yourself to the good, desire their friendship and seek their company. Adhere to the holy man. If you partake of his companionship, you will also share in his virtues. Those who walk with the wise will be wise; those who walk with the foolish will be foolish, because birds of a feather flock together.
(St. Isidore of Seville. Synonyma, l.II, c.41.43-44){
