Eminence (By St. Thiruvalluvar) Poem by Rajendran Muthiah

971.To do good deeds with mental vigour is glory to one.
Disgrace to one to hope to live with lethargy.
972.All beings are similar by the nature of birth.
But difference in vocations differs their special worth.
973.Men of low birth though be in exalted seat are not great.
Those of high birth though be on the floor are not base.
974.Like the chaste, single-hearted women
If one guards oneself, greatness exists in one.
975.Great men are capable of doing rarer actions
in steady, possible ways.
976.The lowly do not have the intention to respect
And emulate the nature of the great.
977.If greatness thrusts itself in the life of the mean
It will inflict unlimited harm.
978.The great are restrained when greatness comes to them;
but the mean admire and adorn themselves.
979.Greatness is lack of vanity.
But meanness with conceit rides for a fall.
980.The great men ignore the faults of others.
But the little men harp on the very faults of others.