Hinduism

Tukaram, Poem 1003

If you smear sandal powder on an ass, the creature will mingle it with ashes. No being can easily change its own qualities. If you hang a jewel about the neck of a monkey, he bites it off and throws it away and spits on it. Tuka says, A worthless fellow rejects a benefit to himself; his ignorance confirms his folly.

Source The Poems of Tukârâma, trad. J. Nelson Fraser et K. B. Marathe, 3 vol., 1909-1915, archive.org · Contents