himself alive. The actions of devoted men are blameless.


When the goblin on the king's shoulder had told this story, he
asked the king: "O King, which of these two, the king and the
general, was the more deserving? Remember the curse before you
answer."

The king said: "I think the king was the more deserving."

And the goblin said reproachfully: "O King, why was not the
general better? He offered the king a wife like that, whose charms
he knew from a long married life. And when his king died, he
burned himself like a faithful man. But the king gave her up
without really knowing her attractions."

Then the king laughed and said: "True enough, but not surprising.
The general was a gentleman born, and acted as he did from
devotion to his superior. For servants must protect their masters
even at the cost of their own lives. But kings are like mad
elephants who cannot be goaded into obedience, who break the
binding-chain of virtue. They are insolent, and their judgment
trickles from them with the holy water of consecration. Their eyes
are blinded by the hurricane of power, and they do not see the
road. From the most ancient times, even the kings who conquered
the world have been maddened by love and have fallen into
misfortune. But this king, though he ruled the whole world, though
he was maddened by the girl Passion, preferred to die rather than
set his foot on the path of iniquity. He was a hero. He was the
better of the two."