44. Guarding Against Faults

Those who are free from vanity, vulgarity and venomousness
will prosper in deserving dignity.

Avarice, arrogance and crude amusements are flaws
in the character of an unfit king.

Though their fault be as small as a millet seed,
to those who dread disgrace it will appear as large as a palm tree.

One's own faults are one's mortal enemies.
It follows that to guard against them is life's gravest concern.

The good fortune of a man who does not guard against failings
before they manifest will perish like a stack of straw before a fire.

What fault remains in a king who expunges his own faults
before examining the faults in others?

The wealth of him who, out of avarice, fails to do what 
should be done will vanish without the slightest vestige.

When all faults are reckoned, one remains unrivaled:
the greedy grasping known as avarice.

Never indulge in admiring yourself.
Never be drawn toward deeds that do not benefit others.

Delighting in life's pleasures in guarded privacy 
nullifies the conspiring schemes of enemies.