Son. There remains one thing, which, as usual, I shall need to have explained further, as it is not very clear to me. You stated, and it seems reasonable, that the king holds a title of high honor and dignity from God Himself; but I do not see clearly why God made Himself subject to the tribute of an earthly king; since He must, it seems to me, be above all kings, seeing that He rules the earthly as well as the heavenly kingdom.

Father. That God Himself has honored earthly kings you will observe from the fact that, when He came down to earth from the loftiest pinnacles of heaven, He regarded Himself as having come among men as a guest and did not wish to claim a share in the earthly kingship, though he might have done so. But He fulfilled the words that David had spoken: “The Lord ruleth in the heavens, but verily he hath given an earthly kingdom to the sons of men.”^[292] Now God, while He was on earth, wished to honor earthly kings and kingdoms rather than disparage them in any way; for He would not deprive the earthly kingship of what He had formerly given into the control of earthly lords; but God showed a perfect obedience to Caesar. You should also observe that, just as God commanded His apostle Peter to examine the first fish that he drew and take a penny from its mouth (and God did not want him to examine the second fish or the third, but the first only), similarly every man should in all things first honor the king and the royal dignity. For God Himself calls the king His anointed, and every king who possesses the full honors of royalty is rightly called the Lord’s anointed. In like manner one of God’s apostles said in a sermon while instructing the people in the true faith: “Fear God and honor your king,”^[293]—which is almost as if he had literally said that he who does not show perfect honor to the king does not fear God.

Every king, as you have said, ought, indeed, to be wise, well-informed, and above everything upright, that he may be able to realize fully that he is after all merely a servant of God, though he is honored and exalted so highly in the supreme service of God, that all bow down before him as before God; for in so doing they worship God and the holy name which the king bears but not the king himself. It is, therefore, in the very nature of kingship to inspire all with a great awe and fear of the king, wherefore every one trembles who hears him named. But he ought also to appear gracious and friendly toward all good men, lest any one should fear him so much as to be deterred from presenting any important request to him because of his severity.

In the night, as soon as the king is sated with sleep, it should be his duty and business to center his thoughts upon the kingdom as a whole and to consider how his plans may be formed and carried out in such a way that God will be well pleased with the care that he gives to the realm; also how it may be made most profitable and obedient to himself; further what measure of firmness he must use in restraining the rich lest they become too arrogant toward the poor, and what caution in uplifting the poor, lest they grow too defiant toward the wealthy; wherefore he needs to ponder and plan judiciously how to hold everyone to moderation in the estate in which he is placed. This, too, the king must be sure to keep in his thoughts, that when it becomes necessary to chastise those who are not satisfied with what God has planned for them, he must not be so lenient in his punishment, that this excessive indulgence should lead anyone to consider it safe to transgress what ought to stand as rightfully ordained. Nor must he be so severe in his penalties that God and rightminded men will regard him as punishing more from a cruel disposition than from a sense of justice. These things and many more a king ought to reflect upon at night when he is done with sleep, for then fewer matters will come upon him unawares during the day, when the needs of the land are presented to him.