Not Backbiting
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piṟaṉpaḻi kūṟuvāṉ taṉpaḻiyuḷḷum / tiṟaṉterintu kūṟap paṭum
Whoever speaks ill of another behind his back will have his own faults — the most wounding of them — picked out and told to his face.
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“Who on his neighbours' sins delights to dwell, / The story of his sins, culled out with care, the world will tell.”
“If thou slander another, he will look into thy own transgressions and expose the worst of them.”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
பிறன் பழி கூறுவான் = பிறன் ஒருவன் பழியை அவன் புறத்துக் கூறும் அவன்; தன் பழியுள்ளும் திறன் தெரிந்து கூறப்படும் = தன் பழி பலவற்றுள்ளும் உளையும் திறம் உடையவற்றைத் தெரிந்து அவனால் கூறப்படும்.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
Whoever speaks ill of another behind his back invites the same in return: the one slandered will search out and tell, to his face, the most wounding of his own faults. Backbiting boomerangs, and the return blow is aimed to hurt.