Thou art like the fall that awaits collectors of honey,
or like attractive food containing poison. Thy nature now resembles that
of dishonest men and not that of the good. Thou art like a pit, O king,
abounding with snakes of virulent poison. Thou resemblest, O king, a
river full of sweet water but exceedingly difficult of access, With steep
banks overgrown with Kariras and thorny canes. Thou art like a swan in
the midst of dogs, vultures and jackals. Grassy parasites, deriving their
sustenance from a mighty tree, swell into luxuriant growth, and at last
covering the tree itself overshadow it completely. A forest conflagration
sets in, and catching those grassy plants first, consumes the lordly tree
with them. Thy ministers, O king, resemble those grassy parasites of
which I speak. Do thou check and correct them. They have been nourished
by thee. But conspiring against thee, they are destroying thy prosperity.
Concealing (from thee) the faults of thy servants, I am living in thy
abode in constant dread of danger, even like a person living in a room
with a snake within it or like the lover of a hero's wife. My object is
to ascertain the behaviour of the king who is my fellow-lodger. I wish to
know whether the king has his passions under control, whether his
servants are obedient to him, whether he is loved by them, and whether he
loves his subjects. For the object of ascertaining all these points, O
best of kings, I have come to thee. Like food to a hungry person, thou
hast become dear to me.
Pages:
1328
1329
1330
1331
1332
1333
1334
1335
1336
1337
1338
1339
1340
1341
1342
1343
1344
1345
1346
1347
1348
1349
1350
1351
1352