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Section III.
The Evil-Doer.
68.
A wicked man should not be loved much, being as unstable as a jar half-full of water carried along on the head.
69.
A snake is harmful; a wicked man is harmful, a wicked man being more harmful than a snake: a snake is brought to subjection by charms and drugs—how can a wicked man be subdued?
70.
The fool who knows his ignorance is a wise man on that very account; a fool who deems himself wise, he is called a fool indeed![1]
71.
So long as his sin does not ripen,[2] a fool considers it as sweet as honey; when his sin ripens, he then undergoes suffering.
72.
It is not good for a foolish man to be strong; he obtains his possessions by force: on the dissolution of the body he goes to hell, being of little understanding.
73.
A mouse is destructive in a house, a monkey in the forest; injurious among birds is the crow, among men a Brahman.[3]
- ↑ This is stanza 63 of the Dhammapada.
- ↑ Compare Dhammapada, 69: "Does not ripen," i.e., "when the consequence has not been developed." The verb paccati is used in this sense.
- ↑ At the time of Gotama there were two religious parties—the Samaṇas and Brâhmaṇas. Gotama himself belonged to the former, and the latter, therefore, were considered as heretical by him and his disciples, and looked upon with contempt.
