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The -sprouts indicates the nature of
the soil. So does softness of speech indicate a good family.
Harshness raises doubts as to good birth.
i.e., his mother's chastity may be
questioned.
An instinctive aversion to evil is the
secret of a happy and virtuous life. Courteous behaviour is the essential characteristic
of good birth:
Kulam venndin if you desire the advantage
of good birth, which means, if you desire not to lose it. Yarkkum panivu brings out the
need of the spirit of true humility, which are the essence of courteous conduct, towards
not only those placed above, but equals and those below. A proper humility is the best
adornment of aristocracy of any kind. nalam is ‘good', in both the moral and the
Shylockian sense of 'good'; naanam is a sensitive conscience whereby the repugnance to
evil is made part of the physical organism and the reaction is quick and unconscious.
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