طمع

أَطْمَعُ ذ [ More, and most, covetous &c.]. أَطْمَعُ مِنْ قَالِبِ الصَّخْرَةِ [ More covetous than the turnerover of the great mass of stone ] is a prov., of which the origin was this: a man of Ma'add saw a stone in the land of El-Yemen, on which was inscribed, أَقْلِبْنِى أَنْفَعْكَ [“ Turn me over, I will benefit thee ”]: and he exercised his skill in turning it over, and found [inscribed] on the other side, يَهْدِى اـِلَى طَبَعٍ ↓ رُبَّ طَمَعٍ [ Many a coveting leads to disgrace ]: and he ceased not to beat with his head the great mass of stone, by reason of regret, until his brains issued and he died. (Meyd.)