Chapter 89: Internal Enmity

Verse 885
A man who is miserable is sleeping and dreaming of his relatives, whom he hates and despises. The sleeping man’s animosity will kill him, like the dagger that has penetrated his chest.

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Weaver’s Wisdom

Verse 881

Even shade and water are unpleasant if they breed disease.
So, too, may relatives be unpleasant if they cause harm.

Verse 882

Fear not the foe who is like a drawn sword;
rather fear the friendship of an enemy who poses as kin.

Verse 883

Dread hatred from within and defend yourself against it.
In calamitous times it will cut deeper than a potter’s knife.

Verse 884

Hidden hatreds may lurk only in the mind,
yet among kin they can manifest many miseries.

Verse 885

Hate hidden in a kinsman’s heart will cause
many miseries, and more–it will kill a man.

Verse 886

When hatred arises, dissension destroys unity,
and men fall inescapably toward ever-ready death.

Verse 887

A house that harbors hatred will never be a united whole,
though, like a vessel and its lid, it may appear to be one.

Verse 888

As iron is worn away by frequent filing,
a family’s strength is eroded by incessant inner frictions.

Verse 889

Internal dissension may seem as small as a split sesame seed,
yet there is enough power in it to destroy.

Verse 890

Living with those who cannot dwell in harmony
is like living in a hut with a deadly cobra.