The Kural or the Maxims of Tiruvalluvar/Chapter 52
CHAPTER 52
TESTING AND EMPLOYMENT OF MEN
511. Behold the man that seeth the good and seeth the evil also and chooseth only that which is good : employ thou him in thy service.
512. Behold the man that is able to develop the resources of thy kingdom and to cure the ills that may befall it : set him to manage thy affairs.
513. Let him alone be selected for service who is endowed with kindness and intelligence and decision, and who is free from greed.
514. Many are the men that satisfy every test and yet alter in the actual performance of duty.
515. Work should be entrusted to men in consideration of their expert knowledge and capacity for patient exertion, and not of their love towards thy person.
516. Choose the expert and give him the work for which he is fit : see that the time is ripe for performance and then get him to begin it.
517. Determine first the capacity of the servant and the work for which he is fit : and then leave him in responsible charge of the same.
518. After thou hast decided that a man is fit for an office, make him worthy to fill it.
519. Behold the man who resenteth the friendly advances of the servant who is skilful at his work : Fortune will depart from him.
520. Let the prince oversee everything every day : for there will be nothing wrong with the country so long as there is nothing wrong with the officers of the State.
