This book offers the first annotated translation into English of two works of the eminent Venetian humanist, Ermolao Barbaro (1454–93). Books 3 and 4 of _On Celibacy_ seek to justify a contemplative existence at a far remove from the active life and career-path expected of a figure of Barbaro's standing within the Venetian patriciate; Books 1 and 2 of _On Celibacy_ are presented in the companion-piece to this second volume. The second work presented here is Barbaro's short treatise _On the Duty of Ambassador_ (1488): based on Barbaro's own practical experience as a Venetian envoy abroad, this treatise outlines the conduct expected of the dedicated career diplomat. Viewed against each other, Barbaro's _On Celibacy_ and _On the Duty of the Ambassador_ offer contrasting perspectives on the wider 15th-century debate about the claims of the reflective as opposed to the active life – a debate that extends all the way back to Greco-Roman antiquity. In _On Celibacy_ the young Barbaro is committed to a life that proudly renounces civic engagement in the name of self-discovery and inner fulfilment. Yet a different Barbaro asserts himself in _On the Duty of the Ambassador_: he now presents himself as a committed public servant in a work that is ahead if its time in theorizing the nature of 'modern' Renaissance diplomacy. On a personal level, these two works capture the profound dichotomy in Barbaro's life between his humanist devotion to scholarship on the one hand and, on the other, his call of duty to the Republic of Venice.