[493] "Prince, yet a second simile occurred to me, spontaneous, never heard before. Suppose, Prince, there were a wet, sappy piece of wood lying on dry land far from water. Then a man might come along with an upper fire-stick, thinking: 'I shall produce a fire, I shall make heat appear.' What do you think, Prince — by taking the upper fire-stick and rubbing that wet, sappy piece of wood lying on dry land far from water, could that man produce a fire and make heat appear?"
"Certainly not, venerable sir. Why is that? Because, venerable sir, that piece of wood is wet and sappy, even though it is lying on dry land far from water; that man would only reap weariness and vexation."
"Even so, Prince, as to whatever ascetics or brahmins who dwell withdrawn from sensual pleasures in body only, but in whom sensual desire (kāmacchanda) for sensual pleasures, sensual affection, sensual infatuation, sensual thirst, and sensual fever have not been thoroughly abandoned internally, have not been thoroughly stilled: even if those worthy ascetics and brahmins feel painful, racking, piercing feelings (vedanā) due to exertion (opakkamikā), they are incapable of knowledge (ñāṇa), of vision, of unsurpassed awakening (sambodha). And even if those worthy ascetics and brahmins do not feel painful, racking, piercing feelings due to exertion, they are incapable of knowledge, of vision, of unsurpassed awakening. This, Prince, was the second simile that occurred to me, spontaneous, never heard before."
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.