Old Tamil Poetry

Naaladiyaar – 64

When unqualified people malign them,
Wise men don’t get hot under the collar;
Lowly people though take it to heart,
repeat it all over town, get furious,
and slam themselves into a pillar in anger.

நேர்த்து நிகரல்லார் நீரல்ல சொல்லியக்கால்
வேர்த்து வெகுளார் விழுமியோர் – ஓர்த்தனை
உள்ளத்தான் உள்ளி உரைத்துராய் ஊர்கேட்பத்
துள்ளித்தூண் முட்டுமாம் கீழ்.

When some one who in unqualified thinks of himself as an equal and maligns, wise men don’t get angry and hot under the collar. They just ignore the words. But lowly people keep thinking of the slur uttered against them. They take the words to heart, keep repeating it all over the town, build up their anger and in their rage slam themselves into a nearby pillar. There is no point in taking the slurs uttered by unequal people to heart. To keep thinking of it only harms the person who was slurred against. It is wise to just ignore and move on.