[375] He was dwelling at Sāvatthī. ... There the Blessed One ... "Bhikkhus, it is by way of elements (dhātu) alone that beings flow together and come together: those without faith (saddhā) flow together and come together with those without faith; those without moral shame (hiri) flow together and come together with those without moral shame; those of poor wisdom flow together and come together with those of poor wisdom. Those with faith flow together and come together with those with faith; those with a sense of moral shame flow together and come together with those with a sense of moral shame; the wise flow together and come together with the wise.
In the past period too, bhikkhus, it was by way of elements alone that beings flowed together and came together ... In the future period too, bhikkhus, it is by way of elements alone that beings will flow together and come together ... In the present period too, bhikkhus, it is by way of elements alone that beings flow together and come together: those without faith flow together and come together with those without faith; those without moral shame flow together and come together with those without moral shame; those of poor wisdom flow together and come together with those of poor wisdom; those with faith flow together and come together with those with faith; those with a sense of moral shame flow together and come together with those with a sense of moral shame; the wise flow together and come together with the wise."
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.