Page:The Kural or The Maxims Of Tiruvalluvar.pdf/208



711. O ye that know how to weigh your words! study well your audience and suit your speech to it.

712. O ye that have the gift of eloquence ! ascertain the mood of your audience first and then speak after careful deliberation.

713. Behold the men that take upon themselves to address an assembly without studying its nature: they know not the art of speaking nor are they good for anything else.

714. Discuss wisdom in the congregation of the wise : but answer fools according to the measure of their folly.

715. Behold the self-control that denieth itself the lead in an assembly of ancients: it is a virtue that outshineth even other virtues. Rh