290 THE KING'S MIRROR 



LIV 



THE KING'S PRAYER 



Son. The more examples I hear, the more evident is 

 the truth of what you stated earlier in your remarks, 

 namely that(7t is very necessary for kings and other 

 rulers who are in charge of justice to 



if they are to adapt their verdicts to the examples that 

 we have now heard-J 



Father. You should understand this clearly that, 

 since the king holds his title from God, it is surely his 

 duty^to suit his decisions to divine examples^ and the 

 same is true of all who are appointed to pass judgment, 

 both clerks and laymen. For we no longer have oppor- 

 tunity to ask counsel on any point from God's own lips, 

 as Moses could; wherefore men should live according 

 to the examples that were set in those days when it was 

 possible to inquire of God Himself what His will was 

 on any matter. Therefore, a king ought to jkeep j:hese 

 examples frequently upon his lips and before his eyes, 

 and such other examples, too, as may give insight for 

 his own decisions. (The most favorable time for such 

 \meditatiofl[is at night or in the early morning when he 

 is sated with sleeplBut when the hour to rise comes and 

 it is time for the king to hear the hours, it is his duty 

 to^go to church and listen attentively to the mass~3bid 

 to join in the prayers and in chanting the psalms if he 

 knows them. Like every other Christian man who is at 

 prayers, the king ought to attend with as much devotion 

 as if he stood in the presence of God and spoke to God 

 Himself. He should call to mind the words that David 



