his kingdom every day. As the bee collects honey from flowers gradually,
the king should draw wealth gradually from his kingdom for storing it.
Having kept apart a sufficient portion, that which remains should be
spent upon acquisition of religious merit and the gratification of the
desire for pleasure. That king who is acquainted with duties and who is
possessed of intelligence should never waste what has been stored. The
king should never disregard any wealth for its littleness; he should
never disregard foes for their powerlessness; he should, by exercising
his own intelligence, examine his own self; he should never repose
confidence upon persons destitute of intelligence. Steadiness,
cleverness, self-restraint, intelligence, health, patience, bravery, and
attention to the requirements of time and place,--these eight qualities
lead to the increase of wealth, be it small or be it much. A little fire,
fed with clarified butter, may blaze forth into a conflagration. A single
seed may produce a thousand trees. A king, therefore, even when he hears
that his income and expenditure are great, should not disregard the
smaller items. A foe, whether he happens to be a child, a young man, or
an aged one, succeeds in slaying a person who is heedless. An
insignificant foe, when he becomes powerful, may exterminate a king. A
king, therefore, who is conversant with the requirements of time is the
foremost of all rulers. A foe, strong or weak, guided by malice, may very
soon destroy the fame of a king, obstruct the acquisition of religious
merit by him, and deprive him of even his energy. Therefore, a king that
is of regulated mind should never be heedless when he has a foe. If a
king possessed of intelligence desire affluence and victory, he should,
after surveying his expenditure, income, savings, and administration,
make either peace or war. For this reason the king should seek the aid of
an intelligent minister. Blazing intelligence weakens even a mighty
person; by intelligence may power that is growing be protected; a growing
foe is weakened by the aid of intelligence; therefore, every act that is
undertaken conformably to the dictates of intelligence is deserving of
praise. A king possessed of patience and without any fault, may, if he
likes, obtain the fruition of all his wishes, with the aid of even a
small force. That king, however, who wishes to be surrounded by a train
of self-seeking flatterers,[358] never succeeds in win