[50] "Come then, Abhipāraka, listen to my word;
I shall teach you the Dhamma that the good have ever practised.
Good is a king who delights in Dhamma; good is the man endowed with wisdom;
good is he who betrays not his friends; the doing of no evil is happiness.
In the realm of a king free from anger, a king who stands firm in Dhamma,
may people dwell in happiness, as in the cool shade of their own home.
And I do not approve of this:
a deed done without consideration is not good;
but as for those who act of themselves only after they have understood —
hear these similes of mine.
If, while cattle are crossing over, the leading bull goes crooked,
they all go crooked, since the leader has gone crooked.
Even so among human beings, whoever is deemed the chief:
if he conducts himself contrary to Dhamma, how much more the rest of the people!
The whole realm lies in suffering (dukkha), if the king is unrighteous.
If, while cattle are crossing over, the leading bull goes straight,
they all go straight, since the leader has gone straight.
Even so among human beings, whoever is deemed the chief:
if he conducts himself by Dhamma, how much more the rest of the people!
The whole realm rests in happiness, if the king is righteous.
Nor would I, Abhipāraka, through unrighteousness
aspire even to immortality, nor to conquer this whole earth.
For whatever treasure is found here among men —
cattle, slaves, and gold, garments and yellow sandalwood,
horses and women, gems and jewels,
and whatever the moon and the sun keep watch over —
not for the sake of that would I act unjustly:
I was born a bull [a leader] in the midst of the Sivis.
A leader, a benefactor, eminent, guardian of the realm,
holding in reverence the Dhamma of the Sivis,
pondering upon that very Dhamma —
therefore I do not move under the sway of my own mind (citta)."
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.