LANGUAGE IN INDIA

A Comparative Study of Truth, Revenge and Love in
Thiruvalluvar's Thirukkural and Francis Bacon's Essays

M.Murali, M.A., B.Ed., M.Phil.
G. Natanam, M.A., Ph.D.

Introduction

Francis Bacon (1561-1626) is a famous English Essayist who has written about truth, love, friendship, studies, envy, praise, etc. These essays are called as "dispersed meditations" by him. He takes all knowledge for his province and has something pertinent to say on every serious subject.

Thiruvalluvar (Second century A.D.?) is the author of Thirukkural. This work presents ethical and moral instructions in 1330 couplets or kural verses. Each kural has two lines, first line has four "words," and the second line three "words." Kural has a very compact structure. The couplets in Thirukkural are divided into three divisions, namely, ARattuppaal (Virtue), PoruTpaal (Generation and Use of Wealth, world order) and Inpattuppaal (Nature of Love).

Like Bacon, Thiruvalluvar (or Valluvar, in short) has also discussed the ideas such as wisdom, friendship, truth, love, etc. Thirukkural has been translated almost in all languages of the world. And the themes discussed in the couplets have also been recognized to a large extent as universally applicable. Hence, it is called World's Holy Book.

Thiruvalluvar and Bacon stand out as beacon lights. The aim of this research work is to compare the Tamil savant with the English genius. The similarities and contrasts between Thiruvalluvar and Bacon with reference to Love, Truth and Revenge are taken up here for detailed analysis.

Comparative Study of 'Truth'

Truth is one of the basic concepts which is extremely difficult to define. What appears to be truth to one individual may appear as untruth to another. People in different times think differently about what constitutes truth. Absolute truth is something beyond our ken and not amenable to verbalization. A wide tolerance and acceptance is necessary in dealing with problems of truth.

Bacon does not go into the question of truth in any depth. He merely observes that truth can be religious or speculative and civil truth, which can be called a mixture of truth and falsehood. But, then God has given us the power of reason and expects us to act upon truth as revealed by reason.

Bacon compares truth to daylight and falsehood to candle light. The first is clear but harsh. The second is vague but delightful. He also compares truth to a poem which shines by daylight.

"Truth may perhaps come to the price
Of a pearl…….in varied lights" 1

Bacon emphasizes that enquiring into truth is like making love. Knowing the truth is like attaining the presence of the beloved. And believing the truth is like enjoying the beloved.

"certainly it is Heaven…but poles of Truth" 2

Bacon hastens to add that when we take our stand on truth, we must always have charity in our hearts, belief in God and abidance in truth. He further says that falsehood will ultimately meet its punishment, because the Bible tells us that the second coming of Jesus Christ will be necessitated when people give up truth altogether.

"The mixture of falsehood…embaseth it" 3

Bacon says that while admixture of falsehood with truth as in poetry has a certain fascination, truth alone can finally save us and fill us with happiness. This applies not only to religious truth but also to our conduct in everyday life.

Thiruvalluvar on Truth

Bacon, in his essay on Truth, is able to put in proper perspective the value of truth and falsehood in the popular mind. But, the "truth" as defined by Valluvar is different from that of Bacon.

To Valluvar, speech has to be soft (or kind?) without useless or frivolous or empty expressions. It must not be productive of evil. It must avoid back-biting. He goes further and accepts the utterance of the 'false (non-real)' if it should be productive of good. So, in the chapter on 'Vaaymai' (Truthfulness), one does not feel worried about truth-speaking per se (in the sense of fact reporting) but is concerned with defining "proper speech".

Valluvar himself uses three related words 'Vaaymai', 'Mey' and 'Poymai'. Actually the literal meaning of the word 'mey' (truth) is the contrary of 'poy' and 'mey' is equivalent to 'uNmai' (truth or real/existential); and 'poy' means 'uNmai allaadadu (untruth)' i.e., that which is not a fact. But Valluvar does seem to equate 'Mey' with 'Vaaymai'; and used 'Poymai' as the opposite of 'Vaaymai' to the extent of seeming to attribute 'fact reporting' as a normal 'characteristic of speech (vaaymai)'. But the two (i.e. strict and impartial fact reporting and scruples and conscience) are in conflict with each other.

'UNmai (fact reporting)' is objective, while 'Vaaymai' is subjective. It is not permissible within the secular limits of earthly life to blur the distinction between the objective and the subjective and take shelter behind it to equate 'Vaaymai' with 'UNmai'. In the couplet 291,

"If you should ask what truth may be,
It's speech from every evil free" 4

Valluvar says that truthfulness is the speaking of that which is free from even the slightest taint of evil. Nobody is always bound to tell the truth. To a patient who has been infected with cancer and to a mother who has just given birth to a deformed baby and to one who is concerned only with ungentlemanly conduct; it seems the answer in all these cases will be 'No'.

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