Read by the tongue
2 Tamil proverbs read closely — filed under Patience, Humility, Hardship and 2 others; set beside cousins in Mandarin, Arabic, Italian and Latin.
அகழ்வாரைத் தாங்கும் நிலம்போலத் தம்மை இகழ்வார்ப் பொறுத்தல் தலை.
akazhvāraith thāngum nilampōlath thammai igazhvārp poṟuttal talai
A Tamil couplet asks you to endure insult the way the earth endures the spade. Italian, Chinese, and Arabic cousins all make restraint a strength — but only the Tamil makes it the dignity of the thing being wounded.
எண்என்ப ஏனை எழுத்துஎன்ப இவ்விரண்டும் கண்என்ப வாழும் உயிர்க்கு
eṇ eṉpa ēṉai eḻuttu eṉpa ivv-iraṇṭum kaṇ eṉpa vāḻum uyirkku
A couplet from the Tamil Tirukkuṟaḷ calls literacy and numeracy the two eyes of every living soul — and Latin, Arabic, and Chinese each reach for sight or light to say what learning does to a person.
Number and letter are the two eyes of every living soul.
எண்என்ப ஏனை எழுத்துஎன்ப இவ்விரண்டும் கண்என்ப வாழும் உயிர்க்கு
Eṇ eṉpa ēṉai eḻuttu eṉpa ivv-iraṇṭum kaṇ eṉpa vāḻum uyirkku
Literally: Number, they say; the other, letter, they say — these two — eyes, they say, to living beings
Tamil · India
Set beside
To bear with those who insult you — as the earth bears those who dig it — is the highest of virtues.
அகழ்வாரைத் தாங்கும் நிலம்போலத் தம்மை இகழ்வார்ப் பொறுத்தல் தலை.
Akazhvāraith thāngum nilampōlath thammai igazhvārp poṟuttal talai
Literally: Like the ground that bears up those who dig into it, to endure those who scorn you is supreme.
Tamil · India
Set beside
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