Resolute Effort
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uṭaiya reṉappaṭuva tūkkamaḵ tillā / ruṭaiya tuṭaiyarō maṟṟu.
What chiefly makes people worthy of being called possessors is resolve. If they lack that, can they truly command anything else they possess?
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“'Tis energy gives men o'er that they own a true control; / They nothing own who own not energy of soul.”
“Those that possess energy are alone to be called rich: as to those that possess it not, do they really possess what they own?”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
உடையர் எனப்படுவது ஊக்கம்= ஒருவரை உடையர் என்று சொல்லச் சிறந்தது ஊக்கம்; அஃது இல்லார் மற்று உடையது உடையரோ= அவ்வூக்கம் இல்லாதார் வேறுடையது தானும் உடையர் ஆவாரோ? ஆகார்.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
Parimelazhagar says that resolve is what chiefly warrants calling a person a possessor. His answer to the rhetorical question is that those without it cannot exercise true command even over other things they own. This concerns effective agency and durability, not legal title or human dignity.