acts, deserves to be consulted by the king.  One who is endued with knowledge and wisdom, who is acquainted with the dispositions of his friends and foes, who is such a friend of the king as to be his second self, deserves to be consulted.  One who is truthful in speech and modest and mild and who is a hereditary servant of the king, deserves to be consulted.  One who is contented and honoured, who is truthful and dignified, who hates wickedness and wicked men, who is conversant with policy and the requirements of time, and who is courageous, deserves to be consulted by the king.  One who is competent to win over all men by conciliation should be consulted, O monarch, by the king that is desirous of ruling according to the dictates of the science of chastisement.  One upon whom the inhabitants of both the capital and the provinces repose confidence for his righteous conduct, who is competent to fight and conversant with the rules of policy, deserves to be consulted by the king.  Therefore, men possessed of such qualities, men conversant with the dispositions of all and desirous of achieving high acts, should be honoured by the king and made his ministers.  Their number also should not be less than three.[246] Ministers should be employed in observing the laches of their masters, of themselves, of the subjects, and of the foes of their master.  The kingdom has its root in the counsels of policy that flow from ministers, and its growth proceeds from the same source.  Ministers should act in such a way that the enemies of their master may not be able to detect his laches.  On the other hand, when their laches become visible, they should then be assailed.  Like the tortoise protecting its limbs by withdrawing them within its shell, ministers should protect their own counsels.  They should, even thus, conceal their own laches.  Those ministers of a kingdom that succeed in concealing their counsels are said to be possessed of wisdom.  Counsels constitute the armour of a king, and the limbs of his subjects and officers.  A kingdom is said to have its roots in spies and secret agents, and its strength is said to lie in counsels of policy.  If masters and ministers follow each other for deriving support from each other, subduing pride and wrath, and vanity and envy, they may then both become happy.  A king should also consult with such ministers as are free from the five kinds of deceit.  Ascertaining well, in the first instance, the different opinions of the three amongst them whom he has consulted, the king should, for subsequent deliberation, repair to his preceptor for informing him of those opinions and his own.  His preceptor should be a Brahmana well versed in all matters of virtue, profit, and pleasure.  Repairing, for such subsequent deliberation, to him, the king should, with collected mind, ask his opinion.  When a decision is arrived at after deliberation with him, the king should then, without attachment, carry it out into practice.  They that are conversant