History
The Kingsmen of Norway
“Whenever the king becomes aware of an enemy, it is these men’s duty to pursue the foeman and thus to cleanse the realm.” […]
Governance
History
Prester John and the Golden King
“It happened one day that the Golden King went out for his sport with only a handful of followers, and among them were these seven traitors. When they had crossed a river about a mile distant from the place, and left their companions on the farther bank, the seven henchmen, seeing that the kind had no one to protect him, resolved to carry out the purpose for which they had come.” […]
History
Arrogance of an All-Conquering Tyrant
“I am glorious, I am great, I am mighty, I have arisen, I am Chief, I am a Prince, I am a warrior, I am great and I am glorious.” […]
History
Etiquette for the Great Khan
“Next, every baron or nobleman continually carries with him a little vessel of pleasing design into which he spits so long as he is in the hall, so that no one may make so bold as to spit on the floor; and when he has spat he cover it and keeps it.” […]
Human Affairs
How to Talk to a King
“And if the king should happen to speak a few words to you which you did not catch, and you have to ask what he said, do not say “Eh?” or “What?” or make a fuss about it, but use only the word “Sire.” […]
Greek and Roman
Strange Punishments for Everyday Crimes
“When the facts had been established, he ordered two oxen of extraordinary size to be cut open suddenly, while still alive, and the soldiers to be thrust one into each, with their heads protruding so that they could talk to each other. ” […]
History
The Charity of the Great Khan
“When he learns that some family of honest and respectable people have been impoverished by some misfortune or disabled from working by illness, so that they have no means of earning their daily bread, he sees to it that such families (which may consist of six to ten persons or more) are given enough to cover their expenses for the whole year.” […]
History
Justice of a Feared Emperor
“The right, that is my desire. To the man who is a follower of the lie I am no friend. I am not hot-tempered. What things develop in my anger, I hold firmly under control by my thinking power.” […]
History
The Medieval Postmen of Mongolia
“For it takes these runners no more than a day and a night to cover a ten day’s journey, or two days and two nights for a twenty days’ journey. So in ten days they can transmit news over a journey of a hundred days. ” […]
Greek and Roman
The Grasping Goes Too Far
“When the accused saw her, he was thunderstruck and stood there, speechless, for some time. Then he just managed to regain enough of his composure to embrace the emperor’s feet in tears and become a humble petitioner.” […]