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Part I: On Virtue

Section I: Prologue

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Chapter 44: Guarding Against Faults

Verse king
stands before mirror, humbly checking himself for possible faults. Only after removing his own flaws will he turn to examine the weaknesses in his ministers who wait outside.

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Weaver's Wisdom

Verse 431

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

Verse 432

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

Verse 433

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

Verse 434

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

Verse 435

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.

Verse 436

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

Verse 437

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

Verse 438

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

Verse 439

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

Verse 440

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