SRI AUROBINDO
Translations
from Sanskrit and Other Languages
Kalidasa
Bhartrihari. The Century of Life
On Fools and Folly
Yea, wouldst thou task thy muscles then the dread
Strength of the mammoth to constrain with thread,
Canst thou the diamond’s adamant heart disclose
With the sweet edge and sharpness of a rose,
With a poor drop of honey wondrously
Wilt thou make sweetness of the wide salt sea,
Who dream’st with sugared perfect words to gain
The unhonest to the ways of noble men.