A father had a family of boys who were constantly fighting.The fighting never stopped. After he was unsuccessful in resolving their disagreements via his exhortations, he made the decision to provide them with a real-world example of the harmful effects of disunity.

After he was unsuccessful in resolving their disagreements via his exhortations, he made the decision to provide them with a real-world example of the harmful effects of disunity. When they were finished, he handed the faggot to each of them one at a time, one after the other, and gave them the instruction to shatter it into bits. They put up their best effort, but ultimately they were unable to achieve their goal. After that, he opened the faggot, removed the sticks one at a time, and placed them back into his boys’ hands, where they easily snapped them in half. After that, he spoke to them as follows:

“My boys, if you are of one mind and combine to aid each other, you will be like this faggot, unharmed by all of the endeavors of your adversaries; nevertheless, if you are split among yourselves, you will be shattered as easily as these sticks.”