Knowing the Assembly
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pullavaiyuṭ poccāntuñ collaṟka nallavaiyu / ṇaṉku celaccollu vār.
Those able to make good teaching enter a worthy assembly should not utter it, even inadvertently, in an assembly unwilling to receive it.
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“In councils of the good, who speak good things with penetrating power, / In councils of the mean, let them say nought, e'en in oblivious hour.”
“O ye that desire to delight the wise by your discourses! beware of addressing even by mistake an audience of fools.”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
நல் அவையுள் நன்கு செலச் சொல்லுவார்= நல்லார் இருந்த அவைக்கண் நல்ல பொருள்களை அவர் மனங்கொள்ளச் சொல்லுதற்கு உரியார்; புல்லவையுள் பொச்சாந்தும் சொல்லற்க= அவை அறியாத புல்லர் இருந்த அவைக்கண் அவற்றை மறந்தும் சொல்லாது ஒழிக.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
Parimelazhagar directs the capable speaker—one who can make worthy meaning enter receptive minds—not to utter it even accidentally in an assembly unwilling to understand or value it.