LXIX
The Ambassador
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A kind heart, high birth, and manners that captivate princes, these are the qualifications of the ambassador.
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A loving nature, a wise understanding, and skill in speech, these three are indispensable to the envoy.
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Behold the man who undertaketh to speak before princes words that shall profit his master: he shall be a scholar among scholars.
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Let that man go on embassies who possesseth intelligence and learning and a commanding presence.
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Conciseness of speech, sweetness of tongue and a careful eschewing of all disagreeable language, these are the means by which the ambassador shall work his master’s profit.
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Learning, sangfroid, persuasive speech, and a just instinct for what is meet for each occasion, all these are necessary qualifications in the envoy.
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He is the fittest ambassador who hath a just eye for time and place, who knoweth his duty, and who weigheth his words before uttering them.
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The man that is sent on embassies shall be firm of mind, pure of heart, and engaging in his ways.
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Behold the firm-minded man that will never let fall from his lips words that are weak and unbecoming: he is the fit man to deliver the messages of princes at foreign courts.
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Even when threatened with death the perfect ambassador will not fail in his duty but will endeavour to secure his master’s profit.