THE KING'S MIRROR 327 



anger ? For God demands a blessed and not an accursed 

 sacrifice; and you shall know of a surety that obedience 

 is more pleasing to God than any sacrifice." Truth 

 stood by and said: " What need is there to conceal the 

 motive that induced Saul to neglect doing as God com- 

 manded him ? Saul imagined himself so firmly estab- 

 lished in his kingship that he could order these things 

 more according to his own liking than to God's com- / \ 

 mand; he showed excessive pride in Jailing to remember 

 who had given him the power. ^.nd this is the reason "^ r 

 why he took good horses, oxen, sheep, and much else of f 

 value, that he might satisfy the greed of his knights and ^ 

 the rapacity of his other warriors rather than carry out C 

 the commands of GodJAnd he spoke falsely when he_y 

 said that he had brought horses and sheep and other 

 things of value into his kingdom to sacrifice them to 

 God ; for he knew that a cursed sacrifice was not accept- 

 able to God." Then the decision was left to Justice and 

 she decreed in this wise: "Whereas God took His rod 

 of punishment, and placing it in Saul's hands bade him 

 execute the divine wrath upon a cursed people, let that 

 punishment now come upon Saul^tCn^his family which 

 he failed to visit upon those whom God had com- 

 manded him to carry it out upon. But the same rod of 

 punishment that was given to Saul to shake over others, 

 another shall now hold and shake over Saul and all his 

 kin. And because he wished in his avarice to possess 

 the riches that were forbidden him, let him now forfeit 

 those riches that were given to him before." * But the 

 reason why Justice passed such a severe judgment upon 



* On this episode see / Samuel, xv. 



