I will tell His Majesty what a king is. A king does not abide within his tent while his men bleed and die upon the field. A king does not dine while his men go hungry, nor sleep when they stand a watch upon the wall. A king does not command his men’s loyalty through fear nor purchase it with gold; he earns their love by the sweat of his own back and the pains he endures for their sake. That which comprises the harshest burden, a king lifts first and sets down last. A king does not require service of those he leads but provides it to them. He serves them, not they him. (…)
That is a king, Your Majesty. A king does not expend his substance to enslave men, but by his conduct and example makes them free…I set down my life with gladness, and would do it again a hundred times, for (a bunch of the characters in the book). I and every man there were never more free than when we gave freely obedience to those harsh laws which take life and give it back again.
Pressfield - Gates of Fire
2 comments:
So true. And there is only one such King, and those who find grace to follow and be like Him
So true. And there is only one such King, and those who find grace to follow and be like Him
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