"dreadful is the penalty the master pays for taking evil counsel! Indeed, there is wisdom in the verse:
Monarchs who adopt a plan
From the mean and vicious man,
Who refuse to tread the way
That the prudent counsel—they
Enter misadventure's cage
Where the adversaries rage;
Thence deliverance's gate
Crowns an issue rugged, strait.
"Fool! Fool! All the world seeks the service of a master whose retinue is righteous. How, then, can such an evil counselor as you, who, like a beast, understand nothing but destruction—how can such a one enrich the master with righteous companions? For the proverb says:
Monarchs, ill-advised, repel,
Even though they purpose well:
Sweet and placid waters smile,
But beware the crocodile.
"Yet you, I suppose, seeking your own advantage, desire to have the king quite solitary. Ah, fool! Are you ignorant of the verse?
Kings shine as social beings, not
As solitaries;
Whoever wish them lonely are
Their adversaries.
And again:
Draw benefit from comments harsh;
No poison, this:
In flattery see treason, not
True nectar's bliss.
