88.
He whose face is like the lotus lily and his speech as cold as sandal-wood, one should not associate with such a person, there being poison in his intentions.[1]
89.
One should not serve a severe master, nor one who is niggardly; more so he should not serve one who does not commend, nor one who is an oppressor.
90.
Horned animals should be avoided at a distance of fifty cubits, horses at a hundred, a tusked elephant at a thousand; a bad man by quitting the place where he resides.
91.
A bad place, a bad friend, a bad family, a bad relative,a bad wife, a bad servant—these should be avoided at a distance.
92.
The friends who stand by you in severe ailment, in time of scarcity, or in misfortune, when captured by an enemy, at a king's door, or in the charnel-house, they indeed are good friends.[2]
93.
One of pleasant speech has many a friend, one of harsh speech few friends: in this place the illustration concerning the sun and moon[3] should be remembered.
- ↑ In Sanskrit we have: "A face shaped like the petals of the lotus, a voice as cool as sandal, a heart like a pair of scissors, and excessive humility—these are the signs of a rouge." —Eastern Proverbs and Emblems.
- ↑ See Hitopadeśa, i. 74, 75.
- ↑ The reference is to the respective heat and coldness of the two luminaries. The sun is said to be composed of coral inside and gold outside, thereby giving rise to intense heat; the moon of crystal within and silver on the surface, thereby producing great cold.
crease, they cannot be stopped." One passage advises that love should be allowed to remain.
