BOOK V
ILL-CONSIDERED ACTION
Here, then, begins Book V, called "Ill-considered Action." The first verse runs:
Deeds ill-known, ill-recognized,
Ill-accomplished, ill-devised—
Thought of these let no man harbor;
Take a warning from the barber.
"How was that?" asked the princes. And Vishnusharman told the following story.
In the southern country is a city called Trumpet-Flower. In it lived a merchant named Jewel, who lost his fortune by the decree of fate, though his life was given to the pursuit of virtue, money, love, and salvation. The loss of property led to a series of humiliations, so that he sank into utter despondency. And one night he reflected: "A curse, a curse upon this state of poverty! For the proverb says:
Conduct, patience, purity,
Manners, loving-kindness, birth,
After money disappears,
Cease to have the slightest worth.
Wisdom, sense, and social charm,
Honest pride and self-esteem,
After money disappears,
All at once become a dream.
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