585
Success is like a lovely woman, wooed by many men, but folded in the arms of him alone who, free from over-zeal, firmly persists and calmly perseveres.
Bhāravi.
586
A feverish display of over-zeal,
At the first outset, is an obstacle
To all success; water, however cold,
Will penetrate the ground by slow degrees.
Hitopadesa.
587
Treat no one with disdain; with patience bear
Reviling language; with an angry man
Be never angry; blessings give for curses.*
Manu.
Notes
* Cf. Matt. V, II, 44.
588
E’en as a traveller, meeting with the shade
Of some o’erhanging tree, awhile reposes,
Then leaves its shelter to pursue his way,
So men meet friends, then part with them for ever.
Hitopadesa.