Fullness of character

For the person who discerns what is fitting and takes noble excellence upon themselves, all good things are owed — so those who know the texts say; and the commentator adds that they will simply be there, as that person's nature.

கடனென்ப நல்லவை யெல்லாங் கடனறிந்து
சான்றாண்மை மேற்கொள் பவர்க்கு.

The good of the worthy is the good that comes of character; other good is not included in any good at all — and the commentary specifies that the other kind is the good that comes of one's bodily parts.

குணநலஞ் சான்றோர் நலனே பிறநல
மெந்நலத் துள்ளதூஉ மன்று.

Love, shame, helpful reciprocity, considerate regard and truth: five pillars propped beneath the weight called fullness of character — and the commentary qualifies every one of them.

அன்புநா ணொப்புரவு கண்ணோட்டம் வாய்மையொ
டைந்துசால் பூன்றிய தூண்.

As austerity resides in the good of not killing, so fullness of character resides in the good of not speaking another's fault — and the commentator prefaces both halves by granting that the other virtues are still required.

கொல்லா நலத்தது நோன்மை பிறர்தீமை
சொல்லா நலத்தது சால்பு.

The strength of those who get things done is the bending low; and that same bending is the weapon by which the worthy turn hostility out of their opponents — the commentary specifying that the bending is done in order to gather those who will help.

ஆற்றுவா ராற்றல் பணித லதுசான்றோர்
மாற்றாரை மாற்றும் படை.

If you ask what the assay for fullness of character is: it is taking, from those who are not one's equals, the same defeat one would take from those above — the commentary calling that quality gold and the test the stone it is rubbed on.

சால்பிற்குக் கட்டளை யாதெனிற் றோல்வி
துலையல்லார் கண்ணுங் கொளல்.

If pleasant things are not done even for those who did painful ones, what use was this fullness of character? — and the commentary makes the question narrower by asking what other use it had.

இன்னாசெய் தார்க்கு மினியவே செய்யாக்கா
லென்ன பயத்ததோ சால்பு.

Having nothing is no disgrace to a person, if the solidity called fullness of character is obtained — the commentary reading the first word as poverty and the solidity as strength.

இன்மை யொருவற் கிளிவன்று சால்பென்னுந்
திண்மை யுண்டாகப் பெறின்.

Those spoken of as the shore to the sea that is noble excellence do not shift, though an aeon shift — and the commentary adds that even the ordinary sea fails to stay within its shore as time turns.

ஊழி பெயரினுந் தாம்பெயரார் சான்றாண்மைக்
காழி யெனப்படு வார்.

Should the worthy fall short in their worth, the wide earth itself will not bear its burden — the commentary defining the worthy as those filled with many qualities.

சான்றவர் சான்றாண்மை குன்றி னிருநிலந்தான்
தாங்காது மன்னோ பொறை.