Testing and Trusting People
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kuṇanāṭik kuṟṟamu nāṭi yavaṟṟuṇ / mikaināṭi mikka koḷal.
“Weigh well the good of each, his failings closely scan, / As these or those prevail, so estimate the man.”
“Weigh a man’s good and weigh his evil: whichever is more, take that to be his nature.”
Examine a person's virtues and faults; then determine which side predominates and judge the person by what is greater.
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Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
குணம் நாடி= குணம் குற்றங்களுள் ஒன்றே உடையார் உலகத்து இன்மையின் ஒருவன் குணங்களை ஆராய்ந்து; குற்றமும் நாடி= ஏனைக் குற்றங்களையும் ஆராய்ந்து; அவற்றுள் மிகை நாடி= பின் அவ்விரு பகுதியுள்ளும் மிக்கவற்றை ஆராய்ந்து; மிக்க கொளல்= அவனை அம்மிக்கவற்றானே அறிக.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
Examine a person's virtues, examine their shortcomings, determine which of the two outweighs the other, and evaluate them by the prevailing quality.