Page:The Kural or The Maxims Of Tiruvalluvar.pdf/156

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PART II WEALTH
 

CHAPTER 46

KEEPING ALOOF FROM VULGAR COMPANY

451. Men of worth fear vulgar company : but little-minded men mix with it as if they made one family with it.

452. Water altereth and taketh the character of the soil through which it floweth: even so the mind taketh the colour of the company with which it consorteth.

453. The understanding of a man belongeth unto his mind: but his reputation dependeth on the company he keepeth.

454. The disposition of a man seemeth to reside in his mind : but its veritable abode is the company in which he moveth.

455. Purity of heart and purity of action depend upon the purity of a man's company.

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