[563] Asked by him, Mātali the charioteer of the devas gave answer;
knowing, he declared the result of evil deeds (pāpakamma) to him who knew not:
"Whatever humans, stationed at the place where goods are appraised,
diminish the purchase — price against price,
fraud against fraud — because of greed for wealth,
covertly, as [a hook is concealed] for the slaying of a fish:
for the worker of fraud there are no protections
when he is beset by his own deeds;
those of cruel deeds, having engendered evil —
these are the people who lie here, having swallowed the hook."
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.