MAXIMS AND RULES OF LIFE. 259 



" The truly great are calm in danger, merciful in pros- 

 perity, eloquent in the assembly, courageous in war, and 

 anxious for fame." 



" Danger should be feared when distant, and braved 

 when present." 



" Every one looking downwards becomes impressed with 

 ideas of his own greatness ; but looking upwards, feels his 

 own littleness." 



" As a mound of earth raised by the ants, or the sand in 

 the hour-glass, so religion, learning, and riches increase 

 only by degrees." 



" Let not the accidental faults of a real friend interrupt 

 your friendship ; the body, though it may contain sores, 

 cannot be abandoned." 



" The allotted days and nights of human life, like a 

 current down the sides of a mountain, pass away not to 

 return." 



" Union even with the body is a broken one ; need we 

 wonder then that no union on earth is indissoluble." 



Satirical. — " A young wife is more dear to an old man 

 than life itself; but a young wife never loves an old man ; 

 she merely waits upon him, and considers him a nauseous 

 draught." 



" Kings, women, and climbing-plants love those who 

 are near them." 



" Riches are every thing : a rich man is always sur- 

 rounded with friends, feared as powerful, and honoured as 

 learned. The poor, though possessing friends, power, and 

 learning, are despised." 



" A servant if he be silent is called a fool ; if eloquent, a 

 madman or a prattler ; at hand, an artful fellow ; at a dis- 

 tance, a bad attendant ; if patient, a coward ; if he cannot 

 endure bad treatment, an arrant rascal : the duty of a 

 servant is extremely hard, and not performable even by 

 saints." 



All the works which give lustre to Hindoo literature are 

 of very high antiquity, most of them probably written at 

 the distance of upwards of 2000 years. The more modern 

 productions do not even aim at the same lofty objects, 

 and consist chiefly of dictionaries or works on grammar 

 and law. There are still, however, many schools where 



