But thoughtless men, who never see
Th' approach of dire calamity,—
Of yawning ruin never think,
Until they stand upon its brink,—
When trouble comes, oppressed and scared,
For struggling 'gainst it unprepared,
Succumb beneath the blows of fate,
And rise no more to high estate.

CLXXI. Conditions of success.

Mahabharata xii. 4889 and 4908.

Whoe'er for future chance provides,
Or promptly meets whate'er betides,
Ensures success; while he goes wrong
In act who is not prompt and strong.

CLXXII. Boldness necessary to success.
Mahabharata i. 5613.

No man gains good who is not bold,
And ready danger to confront;
But if he dares, and bears its brunt,

And lives, he then shall good behold.

CLXXIII. Self-respect essential to success.

Mahabharata iii. 1259.

A man should ne'er himself despise :
Who weakly thus himself contemns,
The flowing tide of fortune stems,
And ne'er to high estate can rise.

CLXXIV. What energy can effect.
Vriddha Chanakya MS., p. 32.

Mount Meru's peak to scale is not too high,
Nor Hades' lowest depth to reach too deep,
Nor any sea too broad to overleap,
For men of dauntless, fiery, energy.

CLXXV. Fearlessness.

Mahabharata v. 1513.

The truly brave, however tried,
In all events the test abide.

The gloom of woods, the wild beasts' haunt,
Their manly spirits cannot daunt.

Amid alarms, distress and woe

They ne'er lose heart, no fear they know.
When swords are swung, or, thick as hail
The arrows fly, they never quail.

CLXXVI. Procrastination.

Mahabharata vi. 2008.

Events have onward sped too fast;
The time to change thy course is past.
A dam thou rear'st the streams to stay
Which have already flowed away!

Thy house is burned; the flames to quell
For water now thou digg'st a well.*

* Compare Rāmāyaṇa, ii. 18, 23, "Thou in vain desirest to construct a dam when the water is gone." Bhartrihari, iii. 76, "A wise man should strenuously strive after his own wellbeing whilst his body is in health, whilst decay is far off, whilst his strength is unbroken, and there is no decline of life: when the house is in flames, what is the use of making an effort to dig a well?"

CLXXVII. Ebil of indecision.

Mahabharata xii. 3814; ii. 164.

The dilatory men who let

The time for action pass away,

Though long they seek, can seldom get
Another opportunity.

CLXXVIII. Promptitude necessary.

Mahabharata xi. 36.

While yet the hours for action last
A man should strive his ends to gain,
That so he may not mourn in vain
The chance away for ever past.

CLXXIX. Study beforehand the consequences of action.
Mahābhārata v. 1112.

If I now take this step, what next ensues?
Should I forbear, what must I then expect?
Thus, e'er he acts, a man should well reflect,
And weighing both the sides, his course should choose.

CLXXX. The best remedy for grief.

Mahabharata xi. 184, f.

Nor valour, wealth, nor yet a band
Of friends can bring such sure relief
To mortals overwhelmed with grief,
As strong and steadfast self-command.

CLXXXI. The cure for grief.

Mahābhārata iii. 14079 (= xi. 76, f.; xii. 12494).

With drugs the body's pains are healed;
But wisdom mental anguish quells;
Such wholesome power in knowledge dwells.
To grief, then, never weakly yield.

CLXXXII. The wise superior to circumstances.

Mahābhārata iii. 62; xi. 67; xii. 751; 6497, f.; 12483.

No day arrives, but as it flies,
Of fear a hundred sources brings,
Of grief a thousand bitter springs,
To vex the fool,-but not the wise.

CLXXXIII. Marks of a wise man.

Mahabharata v. 993.

The men, too high who never aim,
For things once lost who never mourn,
By troubles ne'er are overborne,—
Such men the praise of wisdom claim.

CLXXXIV. Appearances not always to be trusted.

Mahabharata xii. 4148 f.

A bounded vault the æther seems;
With fire the firefly seems to shine;
And yet no bounds the sky confine;
"Tis not with fire the firefly gleams.

So other sense-perceptions too,

Which else might cheat, should first be tried,
And those which every test abide,

Should only then be deemed as true.

CLXXXV. Content, and final blessedness.
Mahabharata iii. 14085.

What gain can discontent allay?
Contentment makes men truly blest.
He who has travelled wisdom's way
With gladness hails th' approaching day,
When he in bliss supreme shall rest.

CLXXXVI. The foolish discontented; the wise content.
Mahabharata xi. 75.

Though proudly swells their fortune's tide,
Though evermore their hoards augment,
Unthinking men are ne'er content :
But wise men soon are satisfied.

CLXXXVII. Discontent.

Subhashitärnava, 110.

Most men the things they have, despise,
And others which they have not, prize;
In winter wish for summer's glow,
In summer long for winter's snow.

CLXXXVIII. No perfect happiness in the world.
Mahabharata xii. 6712; comp. iii. 15382b.

Some men by circumstance of birth
Are happier, others more distrest;
But any man completely blest

I nowhere yet have seen on earth.

[This verse in the original immediately precedes the next No.