Nobility of Character
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nalattiṉka ṇāriṉmai tōṉṟi ṉavaṉaik / kulattiṉka ṇaiyap paṭum.
If a want of fibre shows in one held to be of good standing, the world comes to doubt what it believed of him.
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“If lack of love appear in those who bear some goodly name, / 'Twill make men doubt the ancestry they claim.”
“If rudeness of speech showeth itself in a man coming of a good family, people would even suspect the legitimacy of his descent.”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
நலத்தின்கண் நான் இன்மை தோன்றின்= குல நலமுடையனாய் வருகின்றவன்கண்ணே ஈரமின்மை உளதாம் ஆயின்; அவனைக் குலத்தின்கண் ஐயப்படும்= அவனை அக்குலப்பிறப்பின்கண்ணே ஐயப்படும் உலகம்.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
If a want of moisture appears in one who comes with the standing of a good line, the world doubts his very birth. (Parimelazhagar renders the missing நார், fibre, as ஈரம், moisture, and it is he who supplies the world as the one who doubts.)