Assessing Enmity
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nōvaṟka nonta taṟiyārkku mēvaṟka / mēṉmai pakaiva rakattu.
Do not tell your suffering to those unable to understand it, and do not expose your weakness in the presence of an enemy.
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“To those who know them not, complain not of your woes; / Nor to your foeman's eyes infirmities disclose.”
“Reveal not thy troubles to men who know it not: neither expose thy weaknesses to thine enemies.”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
நொந்தது அறியார்க்கு நோவற்க= நொந்ததனைத் தாமா அறியாத நட்டார்க்குத் தன்நோவு சொல்லற்க; மென்மை பகைவரகத்து மேவற்க= வலியின்மை பார்த்திருக்கும் பகைவர் மாட்டு அவ்வலியின்மையை மேலிட்டுக் கொள்ளற்க.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
Parimelazhagar explains: do not tell one’s pain to friends who do not themselves understand the suffering, and do not make one’s lack of strength prominent before enemies waiting to see it. A humane modern application is not emotional silence. It is full disclosure to safe, capable help alongside restraint about exploitable vulnerability before an actively hostile party.