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.And it is God who ensures that this may come to pass in accordance with your wish.'266 The king praised him and inquired of another, What is goal of speech? And he replied, 'To convince your opponent by showing him his mistakes in a well-ordered array of arguments.For in this way you will win your hearer, not by opposing him, but by bestowing praise upon him with a view to persuading him.And it is by the power of God that persuasion is accomplished.'267 The king said that he had given a good answer, and asked another How he could live amicably with the many different races who formed the population of his kingdom ? ' By acting the proper part towards each,' he replied, ' and taking righteousness as your guide, as you are now doing with the help of the insight which God bestows upon you.'268 The king was delighted by this reply, and asked another ' Under what circumstances ought a man to suffer grief ? ' ' In the misfortunes that befall our friends,' he replied, when we see that they are protracted and irremediable.Reason does not allow us to grieve for those who are dead and set free from evil, but all men do grieve over them because they think only of themselves and their own advantage.It is by the power of God alone that we can escape all evil.' 269 The king said that he had given a fitting answer, and asked another, How is reputation lost? And he replied, When pride and unbounded self-confidence hold sway, dishonour and loss of reputation are engendered.For God is the Lord of all reputation and bestows it where He will.'270 The king gave his confirmation to the answer, and asked the next man, To whom ought men to entrust themselves ? ' To those,' he replied, who serve you from goodwill and not from fear or self-interest, thinking only of their own gain.For the one is the sign of love, the other the mark of ill-will and time-serving.For the man who is always watching, for his own gain is a traitor at heart.But you possess the affection of all your subjects by the help of the good counsel which God bestows upon you.'271 The king said that he had answered wisely, and asked another, What is it that keeps a kingdom safe? And he replied to the question, ' Care and forethought that no evil may be wrought by those who are placed in a position of authority over the people, and this you always do by the help of God who inspires you with grave judgement '.272 The king spoke words of encouragement to him, and asked another, What is it that maintains gratitude and honour ? And he replied, ' virtue, for it is the creator of good deeds, and by it evil is destroyed, even as you exhibit nobility of character towards all by the gift which God bestows upon you.'273 The king graciously acknowledged the answer and asked the eleventh (since there were two more than seventy), How he could in time of war maintain tranquillity of soul ? And he replied, ' By remembering that he had done no evil to any of his subjects, and that all would fight for him in return for the benefits which they had received, knowing that even if they lose their lives, you will care for those 274 dependent on them.For you never fail to make reparation to any-such is the kind-heartedness with which God has inspired you.' The king loudly applauded them all and spoke very kindly to them and then drank a long draught to the health of each, giving himself up to enjoyment, and lavishing the most generous and joyous friendship upon his guests.275 On the seventh day much more extensive preparations were made, and many others were present from the different cities (among them a large number of ambassadors).When an opportunity occurred, the king asked the first of those who had not yet been questioned How he could avoid 276 being deceived by fallacious reasoning ? and he replied, ' By noticing carefully the speaker, the thing spoken, and the subject under discussion, and by putting the same questions again after an interval in different forms.But to possess an alert mind and to be able to form a sound judgement in every case is one of the good gifts of God, and you possess it, O King.'277 The king loudly applauded the answer and asked another, Why is it that the majority of men never become virtuous ? ' Because,' he replied, ' all men are by nature intemperate and inclined to 278 pleasure.Hence, injustice springs up and a flood of avarice.The habit of virtue is a hindrance to those who are devoted to a life of pleasure because it enjoins upon them the preference of temperance and righteousness
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