Life is a strange thing. I mean, in one sense, if you are not dead, then you are living. But a philosopher would make the distinction between your merely existing and truly living. In a sense, they have a point. If you merely satisfy the biological definition of life but make no more impact on the world than a stone or any such object; if your contribution to the rest of the world is based on what use others make of you and not because of your own agency, then the fact of your being alive does not qualify you as living your life. You merely exist like the stone exists.
Now Tiru MUST count as a philosopher. So, naturally, he does draw the same distinction between merely existing and truly living.
Ularennum maaththiraiyar allal payavaakkalaranayar kallaadhavar - Tirukkural
The ignorant merely exist as uselessly as barren land exists - Loose Translation
To be sure, Tiru says 'the uneducated' and not 'ignorant' but education is a fraught phrase with different meanings in different contexts. I mean, you have Tamil sayings that also say 'Yettu suraikkai karikku udhavaadhu' (A vegetable drawn on paper cannot be cooked) to mean that theoretical knowledge is no real use practically. Most such sayings are correct in THEIR context but are prone to misuse when taken out of context. (You cannot learn to drive a car merely by reading about how to do it. But you could possibly learn how to design a car from books. So, the saying does have its application comes to driving but not when it comes to automobile engineering, though, yes, it needs a mix of both in the latter case. If you want to COST the automobile manufacturing process, though, you could learn it entirely from books...and books of accounts!).
So, yes, Tiru's this Kural may be read to mean that anyone who is not literate is useless. As, of course, the 'bookish knowledge' saying can be interpreted to mean that studying out of books is practically useless. Neither of which can be universally true. Which is why, I think that this Kural of Tiru is more addressed to ignorance rather than insisting that you are knowledgeable only if you read out of books.
The problem with ignorance is that, with all the goodwill in the world, you are not able to decide WHAT to do. And, even when told what to do, you may not know how to do it. Which essentially means that you could turn out to be of no use to anyone in the worst case...much like the barren land. And, in the best case, whatever abilities you have - physical strength or such - can be deployed by someone else in the service of whatever job is at hand. In effect, you will be put to use much like an object is put to use with no agency of your own guiding what you will do - other than accepting or refusing to help. Which would be like someone deciding to use the barren land as a garbage dump or some such. (I speak of Tiru's times. Not now when barren land will be worth crores for the guy who wants to build and sell the next gated community! Thought THAT too depends on whether someone has decided to make that area a tech hub or some such...not due to any inherent value in the land.)
The problem is that, when ignorance couples itself with power, it is not merely useless. It can prove actively harmful. To be sure, to get and keep power needs SOME type of knowledge, if only political, unless, of course, you are born to someone in power and inherit it. THEN the rest of Society would be only too happy if you prove to be ONLY barren land and not toxic land!
Largely, though, one may consider the ignorant as those who only exist but do not live.
