Page:The Kural or The Maxims Of Tiruvalluvar.pdf/37

This page has been proofread, but needs to be validated.
 
THE KURAL

with no less force to the man who is after the acquisition of wealth.

As, in the first part, the poet shows himself as a moral teacher of the very highest order, so, in this part he appears as a consummate statesman and a thorough man of the world. Not a single function of the statesman is unfamiliar to him. Everywhere he reveals the firm grasp that he has upon the fundamental principles that underlie the art of government. There is no confusion, there is no bungling, there is no mere wordiness in any of his 700 verses on the subject of Wealth. Everything is in its right place and is seen in proper proportion. It is the dry light of reason illuminating the whole field of the statesman's art.

We had better remark at once here that every verse in the second part (excepting the first one hundred verses of section ii which apply in the first instance to the Minister) applies to the Prince as the ruler of his State, whether the author specially mentions him or only gives a rule or makes a remark that applies to all mankind. To give an example, verse 531 reads, “Worse than excessive rage is the

xxii