Noble Excellence
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Tap an underlined Tamil word to explore its sound, meaning, and use.
cālpiṟkuk kaṭṭaḷai yāteṉiṟ ṟōlvi / tulaiyallār kaṇṇuṅ koḷal.
If you ask what the assay for fullness of character is: it is taking, from those who are not one's equals, the same defeat one would take from those above — the commentary calling that quality gold and the test the stone it is rubbed on.
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“What is perfection's test? The equal mind. / To bear repulse from even meaner men resigned.”
“What is the touchstone of worth? It is the acknowledgement of superiority when it is found even in men who are otherwise one’s inferiors.”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
சால்பிற்குக் கட்டளை யாது எனின்= சால்பாகிய பொன்னின் அளவு அறிதற்கு உரைகல்லாகிய செயல் யாது எனின்; தோல்வி துலை அல்லார்கண்ணும் கொளல்= அது தம்மின் உயர்ந்தார்மாட்டுக் கொள்ளும் தோல்வியை இழிந்தார்மாட்டும் கோடல்.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
Parimelazhagar explains the key word as a touchstone. The question he expands as: if it be asked what act serves as the touchstone for knowing the quality of the gold that is fullness of character. The answer he closes as: it is taking, from those lower than oneself, the very defeat one takes from those higher. With that image the couplet stops being advice and becomes a procedure of assay.