1021. How we say it

நகையின்றிச் சொன்னால் நலமும் பகையாம்நகையிற் பகையும் நலம்

nakaiyindris sonnaal nalamum pakaiyaamnakaiyir pakaiyum nalam

Said without a smile, even good is enmity; said with a smile, even enmity is good.

1022. Our own tangles

முடிச்சவிழ்க்கும் சொல்லொன்று கேட்டார் முடிச்சென்றுகட்டியதே தாமே நகை

mudischavizhkkum sollondru kettaar mudischendrukattiyadhe thaame nakai

Those who hear a word that unties knots find they tied the knot themselves: the joke is theirs.

What seemed so binding becomes something to laugh at.

1023. Laughing at ourselves

வீழ்ந்தேன் எனநகுவான் வீழ்ச்சியுள் வீழ்ச்சியில்லைவாழ்ந்தேன் எனநகுவான் கேடு

veezhnden enanakuvaan veezhschiyul veezhschiyillaivaazhnden enanakuvaan kedu

For the man who laughs at himself, saying ‘I fell,’ there is no fall within his fall; for the man who laughs in triumph, saying ‘I have prospered,’ there is ruin.

He falls, but nothing within him falls with it. The second man’s laugh is self-satisfied; in Tamil, ‘laugh’ also means ‘mock’.