Page:Sacred Books of the Buddhists Vol 1.djvu/336

 ﻿Well then, I will see them, both his attachment to truth and his love of righteousness. What matters his loss to me, after all ? I have already my full number of one hundred royal princes whom I subdued by the overwhelming strength of my arm ; with them I may perform my sacrifice to the goblins according to my desire.' After thus considering, he said to the Bodhisattva : 'Well then, go. We wish to see your faithfulness in keeping your promise and your righteousness.

27. 'Go, and having done for that Brâhman what he longs for, return soon; meanwhile I will dress your funeral pile.'

And the Bodhisattva promised him he would do so. Then he set out for his palace, where he was welcomed by his household. Having sent for that Brâhman, he learnt from him a tetrad of gâthâs. The Great Being, to whom the hearing of those wellsaid sentences procured an intense gladness, praised the Brâhman with kind words and marks of honour, and valuing each gâthâ at the rate of one thousand (pieces of gold), rewarded him with the wealth so much desired for.

Now his father, intending to avert him from expenses out of place and extravagant, availed himself of this opportunity, and admonished his son in friendly terms. 'My dear,' he said, 'when you reward well-said sentences, you should know the limit, should you not ? You have to maintain a large retinue; besides, the splendour of kings depends on the affluence of their treasury. For this reason I tell you this.

28. 'Rewarding a well-said sentence with one hundred is a very high estimation. It is not fit to exceed this limit. If a man, however wealthy, be too liberal, he will never retain the splendour of his riches for long.

29. 'Wealth is the chief instrument of success and an effective one; for no pleasure is attainable in defiance of Wealth. Fortune, indeed, like a harlot, disregards a king who lacks an abundant treasury.'