OIKOLOGY
Nirmal Selvamony

mercempalaip pan		talam: nanmai 

1. That only oikos is, is the first among principles

2. The One, the Other and the Emergent
are the members of tinai

3. When the One and the Other do not mature
 they constitute what may be called altinai. 

4. Biota constituted by the relational members -
matter, life, and the sacred - stand in an oikic relationship

5. Male, female and the unseen sacred integrate
to form the great higher order oikos

6. The three personae emerge from among 
the higher order oikos

7. When the three predicative personae, namely,
 tanmai, munnilai and patarkkai integrate,
the oikic persona emerges

8. Language originates from the nexus of 
the three oikic personae

9. Language is the jointing of the three personae

10. tanmai  is the source of all utterances

11. munnilai  is what stands before tanmai

12. munnilai  is of two kinds - the remote and the proximate

13. The proximate is munnilai , and the remote, patarkkai

14. In the kinship among the three members, the primary is the oldest

15. Kinship is expressed as predication

16. Separation and union are the two kinds of kinship

17.  Separation is of three kinds - 
conflictive, hierarchical, and antagonistic

18. veru, the counterpart of onru is muran

19. In talam, onru is dominant, and veru  subordinate 

20. Antagonism (of oikic members) is of two kinds - 
positive and negative

21. Positive antagonism is means to integration

22. Negative antagonism ruins integration

23. Analysing reason is pakai of the mind

24. inai, kilai and natpu  are the three kinds of union

25. inai  is the union of the one and the other

26. kilai  results from the kinship between the one and the other

27. natpu  results from mental union, not physical union,
 of the one and the other

28.  The cycle of separation and union constitute the history of oikos

29. A member of oikos does not change into another

30. Change in the relationship among members changes the oikic orientation

31. Harmoniously proportionate kalam is oikos within oikos

32. kalam makes predication specially possible

33. kalam integrates matter, predicative life and the sacred

34. The special parts of kalam are the seed and the 
petals    

35. The work of art has the structure of kalam

36. aram (virtue) is the limiting of the relationship among 
the members

37. The primordial entities are the members of oikos

38. Biota derive happiness from experiencing the kinship  
 among the oikic members

39. Art and custom are two kinds of act

40. If persona causes art, person yields custom of several 
kinds

41. Ethics, economics and aesthetics are the three areas of 
custom

42. The same areas pertain to art also

NOTE: Only the translation of the Tamil poem is reproduced here. 
The original is available only in the print edition.