Shame and Self-Respect
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aṇiyaṉṟō nāṇuṭaimai cāṉṟōrk kaḵtiṉṟēṟ / piṇiyaṉṟō pīṭu naṭai.
Is the drawing back from a base act not an ornament on people of worth? And where it is missing, is their stately walk not an affliction to whoever watches it?
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“And is not shame an ornament to men of dignity? / Without it step of stately pride is piteous thing to see.”
“Is not the jewel of the worthy their sense of shame? And when a man hath it not, is not his swagger an affliction unto the eye to behold?”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
சான்றோர்க்கு நாணுடைமை அணியன்றோ= சான்றோர்க்கு நாணுடைமை ஆபரணமாம்; அஃது இன்றேல் பீடு நடை பிணியன்றோ= அவ் ஆபரணம் இல்லையாயின் அவர் பெருமிதத்தையுடைய நடை, கண்டார்க்குப் பிணியாம்.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
For people of full worth, having நாண் is an ornament. If that ornament is gone, their gait of greatness becomes — in Parimelazhagar's own phrase, கண்டார்க்குப் பிணியாம் — an affliction to the people who saw it. The suffering he places outside the man, in those who watch.