Friedrich Muller
Friedrich Muller
commit elephant few man walk
Let a man walk alone, let him commit no sin, with few wishes, like an elephant in the forest.
great leave leaving man pleasure sees small wise
If by leaving a small pleasure one sees a great pleasure, let a wise man leave the small pleasure, and look to the great.
companion lives man overcoming prudent walks
If a man find a prudent companion who walks with him, is wise, and lives soberly, he may walk with him, overcoming all dangers, happy, but considerate.
again becomes born fat fed great himself hog man rolls sleepy
If a man becomes fat and a great eater, if he is sleepy and rolls himself about, that fool, like a hog fed on wash, is born again and again.
man wealthy whatever
Whatever place a faithful, virtuous, celebrated, and wealthy man chooses, there he is respected.
full himself idle lazy man though time whose
He who does not rouse himself when it is time to rise, who, though young and strong, is full of sloth, whose will and thought are weak, that lazy and idle man will never find the way to knowledge.
fruit grows life man monkey runs seeking thirst
The thirst of a thoughtless man grows like a creeper; he runs from life to life, like a monkey seeking fruit in the forest.
man tells treasures true
If you see an intelligent man who tells you where true treasures are to be found.
law learnt man sees supporter talks
A man is not a supporter of the law because he talks much; even if a man has learnt little, but sees the law bodily, he is a supporter of the law, a man who never neglects the law.
age elder head man
A man is not an elder because his head is grey; his age may be ripe, but he is called 'Old-in-vain.'
listened wise
Wise people, after they have listened to the laws, become serene, like a deep, smooth, and still lake.
again driven held pain run undergo
Men, driven on by thirst, run about like a snared hare; held in fetters and bonds, they undergo pain for a long time, again and again.
destroy destroys foolish pleasures thirst
Pleasures destroy the foolish, if they look not for the other shore; the foolish by his thirst for pleasures destroys himself, as if he were his own enemy.
abuse arrow battle elephant endure endures sent shall
Silently shall I endure abuse as the elephant in battle endures the arrow sent from the bow: for the world is ill-natured.