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Story LXXXII

STORY LXXXII

A pious man saw an acrobat in great dudgeon, full of wrath and foaming at teh mouth. He asked: "What is the matter with this fellow?

A bystander remarked: "Someone has insulted him."

He remarked: "This base wretch is able to lift a thousand mann of stones, and has not the power to bear one word. Abandon thy claim to strength and manliness, thou art weak-minded and base, whether thou be a man or a woman! If you art able, make a sweet mouth; it is not manliness to strike the fist on a mouth."

Although able to tear up an elephant's front, he is not a man who possesses no humanity. A man's nature is of earth, if he is not humble[1] he is not a man.

  1. As in many other passages, so also here it was impossible to render the homophony of words having different meanings; accordingly khâk has been translated 'earth,' and khâki by 'humble.'

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