Dread of Evil Deeds
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tīviṉaiyār añcār viḻumiyār añcuvar / tīviṉai eṉṉum serukku
Those hardened by evil deeds do not fear the moral intoxication called wrongdoing; people of worth fear precisely that loss of moral alarm.
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“With sinful act men cease to feel the dread of ill within, / The excellent will dread the wanton pride of cherished sin.”
“The evil fear not the folly called sin: but the worthy flee from it.”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
தீவினை என்னும் செருக்கு = தீவினை என்று சொல்லப்படும் மயக்கத்தை; தீவினையார் அஞ்சார் = முன்செய்த தீவினையுடையார் அஞ்சார்; விழுமியார் அஞ்சுவர் = அஃது இலராகிய சீரியார் அஞ்சுவர்.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
Parimelazhagar says that people already possessed by the effects of earlier evil deeds do not fear the delusion called wrongdoing, while the worthy—being free of it—do fear it. The contrast praises moral alertness; it does not declare any person permanently evil or treat ordinary anxiety as virtue.