Thiruvalluvar

“ Behold the men that neither give unto others nor enjoy their wealth themselves: even if they possess tens of millions they really possess nothing.
1006. There is a man that enjoyeth not his wealth nor giveth freely to men of worth: he is a disease unto a great fortune.
1007. Behold the man that giveth not anything to the needy: the wealth in his hands is like a fair damsel that wasteth away her youth in loneliness. ”

“ Beshrew the eyes that hung upon his form on that day with a passionate, greedy, all-absorbing love ! May they dry up to their very roots with pining and repining !
1178. Verily there be those who love without being loved! For here are my eyes which know no repose for not seeing him.
1179. My Eyes sleep not when he is away, neither sleep they when he is returned: either way it is their lot to suffer unceasing pain.
1180. When people's eyes themselves are tell-tale drums, even as my own, it is not hard for strangers to read the secret they seek to conceal. ”

“ Bitter is life in a place where there are no bosom friends : but bitterer far is separation from the beloved one.
1159. Hath fire, which burneth only when it is touched the power, like love, to burn when it is far away ?
1160. Many there are, are there not, who live through the pangs of leave-taking and of separation, and survive till the return of the beloved! ”

“ Behold the man who hath triumphed over his passions and who swerveth not from duty: his form is more imposing than a mountain.
125. Humility is beautiful in all man: but alone on the rich doth it shine in all its splendour.
126. Behold the man who can draw in into himself his five senses even as the tortoise doth its limbs : he hath laid up for himself a treasure for all his future births.
127. Whatever else thou rein not in, rein in thy tongue : for an unbridled tongue leadeth unto grief.
128. If even one word of thine causeth pain to another, all thy virtue is lost. ”

“ Behold the men that have a regard for their own good : they touch not the hand of wantons who put up their lewd charms for sale.
917. Behold the men who are light-minded: they will seek the women who embrace with the body while their heart is somewhere else.
918. Behold the men who have not a discriminating understanding : the embraces of wily women are to them even as the fascination of the siren of the solitudes. [1]
919. The soft arms of the well-decked harlot are the filthy ditch wherein contemptible fools drown themselves. ”

“ As, in the first part, the poet shows himself as a moral teacher of the very highest order, so, in this part he appears as a consummate statesman and a thorough man of the world. Not a single function of the statesman is unfamiliar to him. Everywhere he reveals the firm grasp that he has upon the fundamental principles that underlie the art of government. There is no confusion, there is no bungling, there is no mere wordiness in any of his 700 verses on the subject of Wealth. Everything is in its right place and is seen in proper proportion. ”

“ The friendship of the worthy is like the studying of great books : the more thou approachest them, the more charms thou wilt discover in them.
784. The object of friendship is not merrymaking : but the restraining and reproving of oneself when one goeth astray.
785. Constant meeting and companionship are superfluous : it is the union of hearts that maketh strong the bond of friendship.
786. Friendship is not the comradeship that smileth to the face : it is rather the love that delighteth the heart. ”

“ Behold the prince who can give with grace and rule with love : his name will fill the world.
388. Behold the prince who administereth impartial justice and protecteth his subjects: he shall be called a God among men.
389. Behold the prince who hath the virtue to bear with words that are bitter to the ear: the world will rest permanently under his umbrella.
390. Behold the prince who is liberal and gracious and just, and who tendeth his people with care : he is a light among kings. ”

“ There is no greater folly than the infatuation that looketh upon the transient as if it were everlasting.
332. The crowd that assembleth to witness a village show, that is the symbol of great riches flowing on a man: and the dispersal of that same crowd is the type of its passing away.
333. Prosperity is transient : if thou have come by it, delay not to do things that are of lasting good. ”

“ Kindness of speech is inculcated as a special virtue by itself. Such vices as fornication, envy, coveting, slander, vain speaking and injuring a neighbour are condemned, and such virtues as uprightness, forgiveness, obligation and good will to all, and charity, are recommended, and the first section ends with a chapter on Glory, for "they alone live who live without blemish : and they alone die who have lived without glory." It will thus be seen that it is a cheerful, smiling, benignant humanity that Tiruvalluvar wants to produce in his country and in the world. ”

“ The embrace of this lovely fair is supremely joyous, even as the family life of the householder who eateth his portion only after distributing charity.
1108. Joyous to the loving pair is the embrace that alloweth not even the air to come between.
1109. The pettish frown, the softening of the heart, and the new embrace, these are the sweets that lovers enjoy.
1110. Even as a man feeleth his ignorance the more keenly the more wise he groweth, even so do I love her the more ardently, the more I enjoy her company. ”

“ Though thou hast to humble thyself before the teacher even as a beggar before a man of wealth thou yet acquirest learning : it is those that refuse to learn that are the lowest among men.
396. Knowledge is like unto a sand-spring: the more thou diggest and drawest thereat, the more excellent is the flow thereof. ”

“ Beware of trusting men that have no kindred : for their hearts will be without attachment and they will be callous to shame.
507. If thou choose a fool for thy confidential adviser because that thou lovest him, he will lead thee to endless follies.
508. Behold the man that trusteth another without trying him : he createth endless evils even unto his posterity.
509. Trust not a man without trying him : and after trying your men, give each of them the work for which he is fit. ”

“ Is the skin immortal, that men desire to save it even at the cost of honour ?
969. The kavarima giveth up its life when it loseth its wool : there are men who are as sensitive and they put an end to their lives when they cannot save their honour.
970. Behold the men of honour who refuse to outlive their good name: the world will join its hands and worship at the altar of their glory. ”

“ Behold the man that setteth his family on high without doing iniquity : the whole world will be as a kindred unto him.
1026. That is the supreme manhood which bringeth to a high estate the family wherein one is born,
1027. Even as the brunt of an action falleth on the courageous on the battle-field, even so the burden of keeping up the family lieth only on the shoulders of those that can bear the burden.
1028. There is no season for them that desire the advancement of their family : if they take things easy or stand upon their dignity, their house will be brought low. ”

“ Thou becomest distracted whenever thou seest a flower, O my Heart! Thou thinkest that the flowers that look on all men can resemble her eye!
1113. Her arm is as the bamboo; her body is as the tender leaf; her smile is a very pearl; the sweetest of odours is in her breath ”

“ When thou lookest on the beloved who is clever in the art of conciliating, my Heart, thou wouldst not even take huff but wouldst rush to his embrace, forgetting all: I fear that now too thy anger is only feigned. ”

“ HE
1201. Even in the recollection love is sweet with endless delights : love is therefore sweeter than wine.
1202. The moment I recall the image of my loved one to my mind, that very moment all my sorrow is vanquished : ah, love is dear in all its aspects !
SHE
1203. I was about to sneeze, but the fit passed away : is it that he was about to think of me but did not ? [1]
1204. Have I at all a place in his heart ? As for him, there is never a doubt but he abideth in mine.
1205. He excludeth me jealously from his heart : is he not ashamed then to show himself ceaselessly in mine ? ”

“ None in the world are so hard-hearted as women who continue to live on even when they receive no kind messages from their beloved.
1199. Even if the beloved is unkind to us, any message that cometh from him is sweet to the ear. ”

“ The style of the English Bible lends itself, as everybody has felt, to the expression of every variety of thought, from the plain and the naive to the most sublime and dignified that the human mind can conceive. It would have been easy for Drew as well as Pope, who were members of the Christian Church, to have adopted such a style for the translation of Tiruvalluvar. But, as it is, Drew has given but a feeble translation, while Dr Pope's verses do not at all do justice to the merits of the original but on the contrary deform its grand thoughts by giving them a stilted and unnatural expression. ”

“ The fool is neglectful of duties and rude of speech, and callous to all sense of shame: and he will cherish nothing that is good.
834. There is a man that is learned and subtle and a teacher of others, and yet continueth to be the slave of his passions himself : there is no greater fool than he.
835. The fool hath the gift of sowing in one birth the seeds of misery for all his future incarnations. ”

“ If the beloved but favour us with his love, we at once forget all our reserve.
1258. It is the subdued speech of that false one skilled in many a wily art, that breaketh through all the defences of our womanly decorum. ”

“ The arms that swelled with joy on the nuptial day now look as if they would proclaim his parting to all the world.
1234. The arms that lost their wonted comeliness at the parting of the beloved, are now grown so thin that their very bracelets slip off from them of themselves.
1235. The arms which have lost their wonted comeliness together with the bracelets that they were wearing, proclaim loudly to the world the cruelty of that cruel one.
1236. I chide my arms for growing lean and allowing the bracelets to fall off, as people now reproach him with cruelty. ”

“ Even as darkness lieth in wait for the light to be put out, even so doth Pallor lie in wait for my separation from my lord.
1187. I lay in his embrace : I then left him for a while, and behold, pallor swallowed me up, as it were !
1188. There are people to reproach me saying, Behold she hath become sallow and pale : but there is none to reproach him for abandoning me !
1189. Acquit him forsooth, my maid, of all harmful intent : the death-like pallor of my body is nothing to thee. ”

“ Even when one is free from faults there is a delight when the arms of the beloved are withdrawn from one's clasp.
1326. Sweeter is digestion than the meal: even so is the lovers' quarrel sweeter than the embrace. ”

“ Ascending the rostrum without abundant knowledge is like the playing of dice without the chequered board.6
402. Behold the man without learning who desireth to be called eloquent: he is like unto a woman without busts who yearneth to be admired of men. ”

“ Delivering an address of good counsel to men of understanding is like watering the roots of living plants.
719. O ye that desire to delight the wise by your discourses! beware of addressing even by mistake an audience of fools. ”

“ If a man bet constantly over dice, his substance will only go into stranger hands.
934. Nothing bringeth on wretchedness so surely as gambling: for it killeth a man's good name and driveth his heart to every ignoble deed.
935. Many there have been who were proud of their skill in the throwing of dice and were mad after the gambling-house: but there hath not been a single man of them that did not come to grief.
936. Behold the men that are blinded by the Genius of Wretchedness who cometh in the form of a passion for gambling : they will starve and suffer every misery. ”

“ Another day, in broad daylight, as he was working at his loom, Tiruvalluvar dropped the shuttle on the floor and called for a light to look for it. Vâsuki lit a light and brought it to him without even the slightest consciousness of the unreasonableness of the request. The sage had received the Poet's answer : married life is the best even for scholars and searchers after truth if they can find a wife like Vâsuki; otherwise they had better continue single all their life. ”

“ Men of spirit flinch not before a defeat: the elephant planteth his legs only more firmly when he is hit by the deep-piercing arrow.
598. Behold the men that are wanting in energy : the glory of an exhaustless liberality can never be theirs.
599. What availeth his size and his sharp tapering tusks? The heart of the elephant sinketh when he seeth the tiger spring.
600. Exuberance of spirit, that alone is strength: those that have it not are mere stocks : their human bodies alone make the difference. ”

“ If a man is blessed with kindred whose love for him bateth not, his fortunes will never cease to grow.
523. The man who rejoiceth not in the intimacy of his kindred is like a tank without bunds : the waters of prosperity will flow away from him. ”

“ When one has read his book through, the one impression that abides in the mind is that virtue and honour and manliness triumph over everything, and that vice and degradation are to be eschewed even should they bring pleasure and profit. ”

“ To say that these ideas are not autochthonous to any great nation that has developed a distinct civilisation of its own, one must possess a much greater amount of learning than falls to the lot of the ordinary man. But it can be safely asserted that these ideas were the common property of great minds at least four centuries before Jesus was born. And Tiruvalluvar had enough in the sacred literature of India, to say nothing of his own Illumined Self, to enable him to build these truths in his grand scheme of life without being indebted in any way to the teachings of Jesus. ”

“ Where will be thy life with its varied glories and thy wealth with all its splendour, if sages, strong in the strength of the spirit, are incensed against thee ?
898. Behold the princes who look as if they are established on an everlasting foundation : even they will perish with all their kin if men who are mighty as the mountain but will their doom. ”

“ Most of the virtues treated of here should also of course be practised by the householder, though many of them only in a lesser degree; but they are placed in this section on account of their more intimate relation to the ascetic. This life of discipline removes the veils of ignorance covering the soul one after another, the eyes of the ascetic are opened, and he sees that the phenomenal life is no better than a dream and a shadow, a thing that is to-day but passes away to-morrow. He therefore renounces his attachments to this world utterly, and then be realises the Truth. ”