Dhammapada verse 74
Chapter 5, The Fool (Bālavagga) · verses 60–75
““Let both layfolk and renunciants think the work was done by me alone. In anything at all that’s to be done, let them fall under my sway alone.” So thinks the fool, their greed and pride only growing.”
Mameva kata maññantu, gihī pabbajitā ubho; Mamevātivasā assu, kiccākiccesu kismici; Iti bālassa saṅkappo, icchā māno ca vaḍḍhati.
English by Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, via SuttaCentral)
What does Dhammapada verse 74 mean?
Verse 74 belongs to chapter 5, The Fool (Bālavagga), which gathers verses 60–75 on the fool. It is filed under craving & attachment, wisdom & folly. Read it with the verses around it: the Dhammapada arranges chapters as short runs, not as isolated lines, so verse 73 and verse 75 are part of the same passage.
The fool, in sixteen verses. The chapter is not kind about it: the fool who knows they are a fool is at least partly wise, the fool who thinks they are wise is beyond help, and the harm a fool does lands on themselves first. It includes the image of evil tasting sweet until it ripens.
More verses on this