Vulture surrounded by carrion

Once Aristotle has said, that the best king is he, who is like vulture surrounded by carrion, and not like carrion surrounded by vultures, that is to say, he must be aware of the affairs of those around him, and they must be ignorant of his but not the contrary.

Verse

A king must be informed like a vulture

Because corpses have fallen round him

Not like a corpse around which vultures assemble

With sharpened beaks, to derive profit from him