Page:The Practice of Diplomacy - Callières - Whyte - 1919.djvu/64

 Mazarin when this great minister wished to bring over a man of substance, who shall be nameless, to his own party. He entrusted the delicate duty to Monsieur de Faber, charging him to offer great promises which he admitted he was not in a position to redeem. Monsieur de Faber refused the commission in these words: 'Monseigneur, you will find many men ready to carry false messages; but you have some need of honest men to speak the truth. I beg of you to retain me for the latter service.'

Finally, it is in a high degree dangerous to entrust an important negotiation to a man of irregular life whose domestic and personal habits are disorderly. How can one expect of such a man a greater degree of order and of decency in public affairs than that which he shows in his own private concerns, which ought indeed to be the constant gauge of his capacity. If he is too fond of the gaming-table, of the wine-glass, and of frivolous amusements, he is not to be entrusted with the discharge of high diplomatic duty, for he will be so unreliable that at moments when he seeks the satisfaction of his ill-regulated desires he will be prepared to sell the highest secrets of his master.

A man who is naturally violent and easily carried away is ill fitted for the conduct of negotiations; it is almost impossible for him to be master of