The Kural · Chapter
XCVIII: Greatness explained
This chapter defines true greatness as an aspiration for noble achievement, contrasting it with the littleness that shuns such ambition.
What happens
This chapter defines true greatness as an aspiration for noble achievement, contrasting it with the littleness that shuns such ambition. It argues that while all men share the same birth, their reputations differ based on their actions; nobility and lowliness are determined by conduct, not lineage. Greatness requires self-consistency, like chastity in a woman, and enables the achievement of impossible tasks. The great are humble and forgiving, while the small-minded are insolent, boastful, and scandalous.
Themes in this chapter
Virtue and Righteousness
The chapter defines greatness as noble aspiration and virtue, contrasting it with the littleness of those who lack such ambition.
The Vanity of Worldly Life
The text critiques the insolence and boastfulness of the small-minded, highlighting the emptiness of worldly pride.
Characters to notice
- Fortune
Fortune is mentioned as falling to the lot of the little-minded, leading to insolence.
Key passages
“An aspiration for noble achievement, that is what is called greatness: and littleness is the thought that sayeth, I shall live without it.”
Greatness is defined by the desire for noble accomplishments, while pettiness is the mindset that chooses to live without such ambition.
This couplet establishes the central dichotomy of the chapter.
“Even as chastity in a woman, greatness can be maintained only by being true to one’s own self.”
Just as a woman's chastity depends on her fidelity, greatness requires consistency and integrity to one's own principles.
This analogy emphasizes self-consistency as the foundation of true greatness.
“Greatness is ever unpretending and modest: but littleness vaunteth its merits before all the world.”
True greatness is humble and without pretense, while pettiness loudly boasts of its own achievements.
This couplet contrasts the humility of the great with the arrogance of the small-minded.