Quote 1
“Exactly. One must require from each one the duty which each one can perform,” the king went on. “Accepted authority rests first of all on reason. If you ordered your people to go and throw themselves into the sea, they would rise up in revolution. I have the right to require obedience because my orders are reasonable.” (10.35)
The king’s interpretation of “absolute authority” is interesting, even though it isn’t true. (But one thing’s for sure: If more kings were like this, there would be a lot fewer revolutions in history.)
Quote 2
“Then you shall judge yourself,” the king answered. “That is the most difficult thing of all. It is much more difficult to judge oneself than to judge others. If you succeed in judging yourself rightly, then you are indeed a man of true wisdom.” (10.48)
It is hard to examine your own character or your own actions without being biased in some way. Come on, it’s you! If you’re going to cut anybody a break, it’s probably you.
Quote 3
“Kings do not own, they reign over. It is a very different matter.” (13.26)
The king does not really own anything. He says he has absolute authority and “reigns over” everything in the universe, but as we come to see, his authority means nothing. So is he just consoling himself by claiming that he “reigns over” everything when in fact he, too, recognizes that the word sounds fancy but really means nothing?