Garudapurana 1.112

The Garuḍa Mahāpurāṇa—112 / Sūta said: / Servants should be known to be of many kinds: superior, inferior, and middling; / they should be appointed to the threefold duties according to their fitness.

I shall explain the testing of a servant according to the quality he possesses; / I will proclaim all of this as it has been traditionally stated.

Just as gold is tested in four ways—by rubbing, cutting, heating, and beating— / so one should test a servant in four ways: by observance, character, family lineage, and conduct.

Endowed with noble birth, character, and virtue, devoted to truth and dharma, / handsome and genial—such a person is appointed treasury-keeper.

One who can examine value and quality should be an examiner of gems; / one who knows the relative strength and weakness [of armies] is appointed army commander.

Knowing gestures and outward appearance, strong, pleasant to behold, / heedful and capable of subduing—such a one is called a door-keeper.

Intelligent, eloquent, wise, truthful, with senses restrained, / conversant with all the scriptures—such a good man is a scribe.

Intelligent, prudent, discerning the minds of others, / formidable, and reciting faithfully what was stated—such a person is appointed an envoy.

Conversant with all the Smṛti treatises, learned, with senses mastered, / endowed with the virtues of heroism and valor—such a person is appointed judge.

From an ancestral lineage [of cooks], skillful, knowing culinary texts, speaking the truth, / pure and resilient—such a person is called a cook.

Practiced in Āyurveda, pleasant to look upon for all, / endowed with longevity and good character—such a person alone is appointed a physician.

Knowing the essence of the Vedas and Vedāṅgas, devoted to silent recitation and oblations, / and constantly intent on blessings—such is the royal chaplain.

A scribe, a reciter, an astrologer, a watchman, / and [anyone] prone to laziness: if the king possesses [such], he should always avoid [their] work.

Double-tongued, causing agitation, cruel, and exceedingly fierce: / the mouth of a wicked man, like that of a serpent, is meant only for harm.

A wicked person should be avoided even when adorned with learning; / is a serpent adorned with a jewel not terrifying?

Who indeed does not feel fear before a villain bearing causeless anger? / The harsh speech of a venomous serpent-like [scoundrel] falls upon the mouth like an unbearable poison.

Whoever slays a servant possessing equal wealth, equal prowess, knowing one's weak points, industrious, / and usurping half the kingdom, is not slain himself.

Those servants endowed with courage, of soft and gentle speech, self-controlled, of true valor / at first, but who later prove of contrary character, are indeed not beneficial.

Free from indolence, highly contented, vigilant, / equal in joy and sorrow, steadfast—such servants are rare in the worlds.

One devoid of patience and truth, cruel-minded and slanderous, / deceitful, hypocritical, crooked, and greedy, / incapable and terrified of fear—such a one must indeed be dismissed by the king.

Missiles well prepared and weapons of various kinds / should be introduced into the fortress; then he should strike down the enemy.

The king should make peace for six months or for a year; / seeing his own resources gathered, he should strike down the enemy again.

Whoever employs fools brings about these three for the king: / infamy, loss of wealth, and falling into hell.

Whatever action one performs, whether auspicious or inauspicious, / through that subtly the king prospers by the service of his servant.

Therefore, the lord of the earth should constantly employ a wise man / in the accomplishment of dharma, desire, and wealth, for the welfare of cows and brāhmaṇas.

Thus ends the one hundred and twelfth chapter, entitled 'Summary of Statecraft Spoken by Bṛhaspati' in the Section on Conduct, in the First Part of the First Section of the glorious Garuḍa Mahāpurāṇa.