Living
Epigram XXXI
Translated by Paul Elmer More (1898) · From A Century of Indian Epigrams (1898)
Living
Oil from the sand a man may strain,
If chance he squeeze with might and main;
The pilgrim at the magic well
Of the mirage his desert thirst may quell.
So traveling far a man by luck
May find a hare horned like a buck; —
But who by art may straighten out
The crooked counsels of a stubborn lout?
Cite this poem
MLA
Bhartrihari. “Epigram XXXI.” Translated by Paul Elmer More. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/bhartrihari/30/.
Chicago
Bhartrihari. “Epigram XXXI.” Translated by Paul Elmer More. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/bhartrihari/30/.
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