In a certain town, there were four Brahmans who lived in friendship. Three of them had reached the far shore of scholarship but lacked sense. The other found scholarship distasteful; he had nothing but sense.
One day they met for consultation. “What is the use of attainments,” they said, “if one does not travel, win the favor of kings and acquire money? Whatever we do, let us all travel.”
But when they had gone a little way, the eldest of them said, “One of us, the fourth, is a dullard having nothing but sense. Now, nobody gains the favorable attention of kings by sense without scholarship. Therefore, we will not share our earnings with him. Let him turn back and go home.”
Then the second said, “My intelligent friend, you lack scholarship. Please go home.” But the third said, “No, no. This is no way to behave. For we have played together since we were little boys. Come along, my noble friend. You shall have a share of the money we will earn.”
With this agreement, they continued their journey, and in a forest, found the bones of a dead lion. Thereupon, one of them said, “A good opportunity to test the ripeness of our scholarship. Here lies some kind of creature, dead. Let us bring it to life by means of our scholarship we have honestly won.”
Then the first said, “I know how to assemble skeleton.” The second said, “I can supply skin, flesh and blood.” The third is intent of giving the breath of life, the man of sense advised against it, remarking, “This is a lion. If you bring it to life, he will kill everyone of us.”
“You simpleton!” said the other. “it is not I who will reduce scholarship to a nullify.” In that case,” came the reply, “wait a moment while I climb this convenient tree.”
As the man of sense hurriedly clamber the tree, the third Brahman breathed onto the lion. It came to life and in no time devoured the three.
And that is what I say: Scholarship is less than sense. Therefore, seek intelligence; senseless scholars in their pride made a lion, then they died.
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