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330 THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY. [November, 1873. not to be forsaken though guilty of evil deeds ? O lord of the renowned mountains, which, co¬ vered by the long-stemmed bamboo, pierce the sky ! will men cut off their hand because it has struck the eye ? 7. Lord of the cool land where the waters brightly shine ! the good will not look upon the faults of others after mixing with them (in friendship), though they act disagreeably- Persons destitute of strength of mind who take up evil things and speak of them after mixing (in friendship), are themselves inferior to those of whom they speak. 8. In a thing done by stran¬ gers, though in itself exceeding bad, what is there fitted to give pain ? Considered rightly, it is the acts of those who are affectionately attached, which, O lord of the land where the waterfalls murmur! wall be esteemed excellent, abiding in the mind. 9. If persons become aware that those whom they have taken into friendship, supposing them to be their friends, are not their friends, let them nevertheless esteem them better than their friends, and conceal the discovery in their own breasts. 10. If after contracting a firm friend¬ ship with any one, I set myself to note his good and bad qualities, may I be cast into the hell where the traitor who discovers the secrets of his friend is punished, and may I be scoffed at by the whole world ! Chapter 24.—Improper Friendship. 1. 0 lord of the fair and well-watered moun¬ tains, where abundance of cascades fall down from the black crags ! men will remain until they have done their work in an old house the thatch of which is untied, keeping out the water by a dam, and being drenched with the rain falling down upon them. Thus will friends remain with one until their business is finished. 2. The friendship of illustrious men is eminently valuable, and is productive of benefit as timely rain. But the friendship of the mean, even in the time of their prosperity, resembles, O lord of the land of clear water! the failure of rain in its due season. 3. The enjoyment of the friend¬ ship of men of acute understanding is desirable as the joys of heaven. But connexion with un¬ profitable men uninstructed in science and literature is a very hell. 5. Our intimacy with those to whom we are not bound by the chain of friendship, 0 king of the hills, the sides of which are covered with groves of tall sandal- trees! though it seem day by day to increase, will be dissolved as instantaneously as fire catches straw. 5. The presumptuously saying, We are those who will do what should not be done, and the deferring and putting aside that which ought to be done at once, verily these two things will cause affliction instantly, even to ascetics, who have renounced the pleasures of the domestic state. 6. Though born in the same pool and grown up together, the atnhel-fiow*er will never be like the expanded kuverlei. The actions of those who are destitute of excellence, though they obtain the friendship of people of high excellence, will never attain the actions of such persons. 7. A little monkey breaking into a fruit with its finger, will strike and seize its own father, though coming to meet it. Lord of the hills ! the friendship of those who are without unity (of mind) is not pleasant. 8. If I stretch not out my hand and deliver my whole soul without hesitation to my friend who is in dis¬ tress, may I be cast into the hell where the wretch is punished who has violated the chaste wife of his friend, andmay lbe scoffed at through¬ out the far-famed earth! 9. Like pouring mar- yosa-oil into a pot into which ghee has been pour¬ ed and taken out again, 0 lord of the fragrant and goodly mountains ! is the acquisition of the favour of those who are acquainted with evil, after the renunciation of the favour of those who are acquainted with good. 10. The absence of benevolence of disposition in him whose form is beautiful is like water mixed with milk, that is pleasant to drink. For those wTho are wise, to become companions of the wicked is like the naga playing with the female cobra. Chapter 25.—The possession of under¬ standing. 1. When the excellent behold their enemies in adverse circumstances, being themselves con¬ fused on that account, they will not come near to invade them. In like manner the invincible and mighty serpent (Rhagu) will not draw near to afflict the moon in her first quarter. 2. Lord of the cool shore of the broad ocean ! self-con¬ trol is the ornament of the poor. Should they behave without respect and without any mea¬ sure of propriety, their lineage will be published by (the inhabitants of) the village they live in. 3. Let the seed of the wormwood be sown in the best of soils, it will never become a cocoanut-tree. So even the Southerns (Yama’s subjects) have, by performing acts of virtue, attained heaven ; while the Northerns, having derived no advantage