Knowing the Assembly
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avaiyaṟiyār collaṉmēṟ koḷpavar colliṉ / vakaiyaṟiyār vallatūu mil.
Those who take up speaking without knowing the assembly understand neither the forms of speech nor any art they claim to command.
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“Unversed in councils, who essays to speak. / Knows not the way of suasive words,- and all is weak.”
“Behold the men that take upon themselves to address an assembly without studying its nature: they know not the art of speaking nor are they good for anything else.”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
அவை அறியார் சொல்லல் மேற்கொள்பவர் சொல்லின் வகை அறியார்= அவையினது அளவையறியாது ஒன்று சொல்லுதலைத் தம் மேற்கொள்வார் அச்சொல்லுதலின் கூறுபாடும் அறியார்; வல்லதூஉம் இல்= கற்றுவல்ல கலையும் அவர்க்கு இல்லை.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
Parimelazhagar says that a person who assumes the task of speaking without knowing the assembly does not understand speech's divisions; the claimed mastery behind that speech is therefore absent.