Classic Poem

They barely eat and they are rarely angry.
Their words are few but they listen attentively.
They have sensitive feelings and they give much away:
clear toddy and toddy that has not been filtered,
rich, juicy meat seasoned with spices!
Meeting men humbly, speaking agreeable words,
and acting for the greater good of the many,
O greatness! there are few kings who have ruled
the world with such beneficence! Listen to me now.
Many understand nothing of these things! The riches
of such men do not last. Even at this very moment,
their wealth is unstable. And therefore, always,
you should act in the way it is right for you to act.
Take care that those who come to you for your largesse
have their needs satisfied! When people have been carried on the bier
to the burning ground, that fearful place of desolation,
that salty wasteland overgrown with spurge, site of what
is other than life, and they lie there on grass, receiving toddy
and a few grains of rice at the command of outcaste Pulaiyans,
and then they have entered the mouth of fire,
for many of these who ate and grew fat no fame has flourished!