240 THE KING'S MIRROR 



he caused Haman himself to be hanged upon the gal- 

 lows which he had intended for Mordecaijand sent 

 orders throughout the entire realm that the people of 

 Israel be allowed to live in complete freedom according 

 to the ordinances of their sacred laws; and he gave to 

 Mordecai all the authority that Haman had once pos- 

 sessed.* 



i^-"^ From this you will observe that God demands mod- 

 eration and fairness, humility, justice, and fidelity as a 

 V duty from those whom he raises to honor. For Joseph, 

 as we said before, was rewarded with splendid honors 

 and great advancement because of his faithfulness and 

 humility, although he had been sold for money like a 

 thrall into a strange land; but God soon raised him by 

 the king's command to be a lord and the highest judge 

 in all Egypt next to the king himself. One may also ob- 

 serve from this how much it is contrary to God's will 

 to exalt oneself through vain conceit; for Queen Vashti 

 lost her queenship and all her power in a single day be- 

 cause of her pride, while a captive maiden of a strange 

 people was appointed in her stead; and Haman lost all 

 his authority in a single day because of his excessive 



vanity, while his dignities were given to a stranger, a 







captive thrall. Now if you should win honors from great 

 lords, beware of an outcome like those in the stories 

 which you have just heard, and there are many such; 

 but make good use of the story that I told you earlier 

 about Joseph. 



There are still other examples which go far back into 

 the days of Emperor Constantine: for God had ap- 



* See Esther, cc. i-viii. 



