Page:The Kural or The Maxims Of Tiruvalluvar.pdf/272



1031. Roam where they will, men must at last stand behind the plough for their food : in spite of every hardship, therefore, husbandry is the chiefest industry.

1032. Husbandmen are the linch-pin of society : for they support all those that take to other work, not having the strength to plough.

1033. They alone live who live by tilling the ground: all others eat only the bread of dependence.

1034. Behold the men whose fields sleep under the shadow of the rich ears of their harvests: they will see the umbrellas of other princes bow down before the umbrella of their own sovereign.

1035. Behold the men that eat the bread of husbandry: they will not only not beg themselves, but they will also give alms to those that beg, without ever saying nay. 17