Rejoicing in the Embrace
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aṟitō ṟaṟiyāmai kaṇṭaṟṟāṟ kāmañ / ceṟitōṟuñ cēyiḻai māṭṭu.
The more you learn, the more clearly you see how much you did not know. Love works the same way: the closer he comes to her, the more of her he finds still waiting to be discovered.
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“The more men learn, the more their lack of learning they detect; / 'Tis so when I approach the maid with gleaming jewels decked.”
“Even as a man feeleth his ignorance the more keenly the more wise he groweth, even so do I love her the more ardently, the more I enjoy her company.”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
அறிதோறு அறியாமை கண்டற்று= நூல்களானும் நுண்ணுர்வானும் பொருள்களை அறிய அறிய முன்னை அறியாமை கண்டாற்போலக் காணப்படா நின்றது; சேயிழை மாட்டுச் செறிதோறும் காமம்= சிவந்த இழையினை உடையாளை இடைவிடாது செறியச் செறிய இவள்மாட்டுக் காதல்.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
As a man who learns through books and fine understanding sees, with each new thing he learns, the ignorance that was in him before, so too, says Parimelazhagar, with the lover: the more unceasingly he draws close to the lady of the red jewels, the more his love for her appears to him as something newly found.