Chapter 57அதிகாரம் 57 அளவறிதல் Moderation

A well drawn on for a day still fills again; drawn out entirely, it runs dry.

Too deep is death, too shallow is death; a seed is buried only to its own measure.

Guarded past all measure, the life within the ring grows small.

In Tamil the words for this guard and ring also mean bracelet and bangle: the bangle that slips loose on a wasting arm.

A rope’s strength is the measure of its twist; when the twist goes beyond that measure, the twist itself breaks the rope.

The man who has smelled a hundred flowers has not savoured even one; the scent on his finger will not stay.

Boiled by one who knows the stage, the lump is jaggery; boiled past the stage, it is charcoal.

Jaggery is unrefined sugar: cane juice boiled down until, at one exact point, it sets into a sweet lump.

Water too scant for paddy will drown millet; is the measure the same for everyone?

Those who have learned that it is good to hold fast in the middle know too that even the middle moves.

For those who dread excess as ruin, the greatest work is this alone: not to exceed.

Restraint is usually counted as doing less. For these people, holding back is the work itself, and the only work that matters.

Counting and recounting, he had pleasure in mind; in the counting he lost the moment.