A man who is master of himself and always acts with _sang-froid_ has a great advantage over him who is of a lively and easily inflamed nature. One may say indeed that they do not fight with equal arms; for in order to succeed in this kind of work, one must rather listen than speak; and the phlegmatic temper, self-restraint, a faultless discretion and a patience which no trial can break down--these are the servants of success. Indeed the last of these qualities, namely patience, is one of the advantages which the Spanish nation has over our own; for we are naturally lively, and have hardly embarked on one affair before we desire the end in order to embark on another, thus betraying a restlessness which continually seeks new aims. Whereas it has been remarked that a Spanish diplomatist never acts with haste, that he never thinks of bringing a negotiation to an end simply from _ennui_, but to finish it with advantage and to profit from all the favourable conjunctures which present themselves, amongst which our impatience is his advantage. Italy has also produced a large number of excellent negotiators who have contributed much to the high prestige and temporal power of the Court of Rome, even to the point at which we now see it. And we ourselves have the same superiority in the art of negotiation over other northern nations which the Spaniards and Italians have over us, from which it might appear that the degree of intelligence varies in Europe with the degree of warmth of its different climates. Now from all this it follows that a man who by nature is strange, inconstant, and ruled by his own humours and passions, should not enter the profession of diplomacy, but should go to the wars. For as war destroys a great number of those who engage in it, she is not so delicate in the choice of her subjects; she resembles those good stomachs which can digest and assimilate with equal ease every kind of nourishment that is given them--not indeed that a man must not have high and excellent qualities before he can become a good general, but because there are so many degrees of capacity in the army that he who has not sufficient intelligence to arrive at the highest remains half-way and may become a good subaltern or other officer whose service is useful in his own sphere. But it is not the same with a negotiator--if he is not adapted to his function he will often ruin everything that is put under his charge and stain the good name of his master with irreparable prejudice. [Sidenote: _Adaptability._]