The Elder said: ‘Is salt, O king, recognisable by the eye?’

‘Yes, Sir, it is.’

‘But be careful, O king.’

‘Well then, Sir, is it perceptible by the tongue?’

‘Yes, that is right.’

‘But, Sir, is it only by the tongue that every kind of salt is distinguished?’

‘Yes, every kind.’

‘If that be so, Sir, why do bullocks bring whole cart-loads of it? Is it not salt and nothing else that ought to be so brought?’

‘It is impossible to bring salt by itself. But all these conditions have run together into one, and produced the distinctive thing called salt. (For instance): salt is heavy, too. But is it possible, O king, to weigh salt?’

‘Certainly, Sir.’

Nay, great king, it is not the salt you weigh, it is the weight.’

‘You are ready, Nāgasena, in argument.’

Here ends the questioning of Nāgasena by Milinda.