Ancient Proverbs and Maxims From Burmese Sources; or, The Nîti Literature/Chapter 1/Section 4

by James Gray

Section IV.
Friendship.

79.

A stranger, being a benefactor, is a (real) relative; a relative not conferring a benefit is a stranger; a disease, though arising in the body, is not beneficial; a herb from the forest is a boon.^[1]

80.

A man who injures another's virtue in his absence, who speaks lovingly in his presence, one would consider such friendship like honey in a pot of poison.^[2]

81.

In poverty a friend forsakes you; son, and wife, and brothers too forsake you; being rich, they cling to you: wealth in this world is a great friend.^[3]

82.

One can know a (good) servant by his taking errands, a relative when danger comes; thus also a friend in times of poverty, and a wife when wealth disappears.

83.

He is a relative who in prosperity makes you cling to him; he a father who supports you; in whom there is affection, he is a friend; she a wife who pacifies.

84.

One should confide neither in an enemy nor a friend; when a friend becomes angry he makes known all your faults.^[4]

85.

He who once becomes angry with a friend and wishes to be reconciled, he follows him even unto death, like a mare pregnant with a Tarâ colt.^[5]

86.

Until the time (for vengeance) has not arrived, one might carry his enemy on his shoulders; the time having come, he should break him to pieces like a jar on a rock.^[6]

87.

A debt balance as well as a remaining fire increases repeatedly; so also increases remaining enmity: one should, therefore, have nothing remaining.^[7]

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.^[8]

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.^[9]

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^[10] should be remembered.

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1. This stanza is adopted from Hitopadeśa, iii. 101.
2. Ćâṇakya says, "As a bowl of poison with milk on its surface."
3. There are some very fine lines in the Mahâbhârata on the subject of riches and poverty. Vide xii. 213 ff.
4. This and the following two stanzas are of an epigrammatic, satirical character.
5. The Tarâ, like the Âjânîyâ horses, are fabulous animals with supernatural powers. It is said that as soon as the Tarâ colt is born, the mother at once dies. Hence the allusion. The Tarâ horses are also called assatarâ (fem. assatarî).
6. The idea set forth here is of a somewhat repulsive nature. In the Burmese anthology it can only be construed as sarcastic. The advice, however, appears in the Mahâbhârata as a Machiavelian counsel, and there are others of a similar nature in the poem most repugnant to the moral sense. Muir has collected several in his supplement to "Metrical Translations from Sanskrit Writers." The following are examples:— "Let a man be very humble in his speech, but in heart as sharp as a razor: let him speak with a smile when bent on a terrible act" [Mahâbh. i. 5606]. "By kindling fire, by sacrifice, by a beggar's saffron garb, by braided hair, and clothing of skin, let a man fill his enemy with confidence, and then seize him like a wolf" [i. 5560].
   The Sanskrit version (Mahâbh. i. 5563) is well rendered by Muir:—

   "Whilst thou dost watch thy chance, with seeming care
   Thy mortal foe upon thy shoulder bear;
   Then down to earth thy hated burden dash,
   As men against a rock an earthen vessel smash."

   Compare Mahâbhârata, xii. 4167: "What is broken is with difficulty united, and what is whole is with difficulty broken. But the friendship which has been broken and again cemented does not continue to be affectionate."

7. Ćâṇakya says: "To pay off debts, to quench a fire, and remove desire is good, for should they increase, they cannot be stopped." One passage advises that love should be allowed to remain.
8. 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.
9. See Hitopadeśa, i. 74, 75.
10. 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.