sight to the eye of a deer or fragrance to a lily in the pond? Who gives to the descendants of a race their disposition? Each comes of itself.[1]
20.
Flavourless is a betel-leaf without lime[2] and insipid the adornments of one without wealth; tasteless is a curry devoid of salt; senseless the expositions[3] of one without knowledge.
21.
One observant is full of learning; he increases his knowledge; by means of knowledge he understands the meaning:[4] the comprehension of the meaning brings satisfaction.
22.
Food, sexual intercourse, and sleep appertain both to oxen and men; knowledge is peculiar[5] to man: one of a debased intellect is on a level with oxen.
23.
Friendship is not equal in value to knowledge; there is no enemy like sickness; no love is equal to self-love; no power equal to moral merit.[6]
- ↑ Buddhism does not accept a god as creator. Hence, samati bhavo (hoti).
- ↑ Akotambulaṃ = "betel-leaf without lime," where ko is used for lime. The betel (Malabar beetla) is a species of pepper, the leaves of which are chewed in the East with a little areca-nut, catechu, and shell-lime. To improve the flavour rose-water and spices, such as cinnamon, clove, &o., are added. The prepared betel-leaf acts as a digestive after meals, and serves the same purpose as smoking in temporarily staving off hunger. By some it is looked upon as a luxury, and one of the etiquettes of hospitality is to offer it to a visitor. The Hitopadeśa says: "Betel is pungent, bitter, spicy, sweet, alkaline, astringent; a carminative, a destroyer of phlegm, a vermifuge, a sweetener of the breath, an ornament of the month, a remover of impurities, and kindler of the flame of love! O friend! these thirteen properties of betel are hard to be met with, even in heaven!"
- ↑ Byâkaraṇaṁ (here equivalent to nirukta). This word has comprehensive application in Burmese literature. Not only is the term applied to Pâṇini's great Grammar, but also to several works, astrological, medical, &c., translated into the vernacular from Sanskrit.
- ↑ Atthaṁ
- ↑ Or " distinguishes man." Vijja posassa viseso. Vide Hitopadeśa, Introduction, 25.
- ↑ Kammaṁ (Sanskrit karma,
