27. Beyond our own selves

மூடிக் கிடந்தான் முகர்வதெலாம் தன்மூச்சேநாடிக் கிடந்தான் புறம்

moodik kidandaan mukarvadhelaam thanmooschenaadik kidandaan puram

One lay under the cover, smelling only his own breath; the other lay searching the air beyond it.

Under a sheet drawn over the head, every breath comes back: nothing reaches the covered one that did not come from himself.

28. Agreement can stop questions

நூற்றுவர் நன்றென்றால் நூற்றொன்றாம் கேள்வியையார்கேட்பர் நூறும் செவிடு

nootruvar nandrendraal nootrondraam kelviyaiyaarkedpar noorum sevidu

When a hundred say ‘good’, who asks the hundred-and-first question? All hundred are deaf.

In Tamil one verb, kel, means both ‘to ask’ and ‘to hear’; kelvi, ‘question’, also means ‘hearing’.

29. Leaving ourselves unexplored

ஆழமறி வோமென் றலைகடலிற் பாய்ந்தார்தம்ஆழ மறிந்தா ரிலை

aazhamari vomen ralaikadalir paayndaarthamaazha marindaa rilai

‘We will know its depth,’ they said, and leapt into the surging sea; not one of them has known their own depth.

aazham, ‘depth’, is said of seas and of people alike.