Mahabharata 5.37.26

5.37.26

na viśvāsājjātu parasya gehaṃ gacchennaraścetayāno vikāle |
na catvare niśi tiṣṭhennigūḍho na rājanyāṃ yoṣitaṃ prārthayīta || 26 ||

Men of learning say that a servant should be endued with these eight qualities, viz., absence of pride, ability, absence of procrastination, kindness, cleanliness, incorruptibility, birth in a family free from the taint of disease, and weightiness of speech. No man should confidently enter an enemy's house after dusk even with notice. One should not at night lurk in the yard of another's premises, nor should one seek to enjoy a woman to whom the king himself might make love. Never set thyself against the decision to which a person hath arrived who keepeth low company and who is in the habit of consulting all he meeteth. Never tell him,--I do not believe thee,--but assigning some reason send him away on a pretext. A king who is exceedingly merciful, a woman of lewd character, the servant of a king, a son, a brother, a widow having an infant son one serving in the army, and one that hath suffered great losses, should never be engaged in pecuniary transactions of lending or borrowing. These eight qualities shed a lustre on men, viz., wisdom, high lineage, acquaintance with scriptures, self-restraint, prowess, moderation in speech, gift to the extent of one's power, and gratefulness. These high qualities, O sire, are necessarily brought together by one only by gifts. When the king favours a person, that incident (of royal favour) bringeth in all others and holdeth them together.