330 THE KING'S MIRROR 



he threw at David, aiming to drive it through him and 



pin him to the wall of the room. Thus he had planned 



to avoid responsibility for the murder by leading the 



people to think he had done it in frenzy and not with 



evil intent. David escaped and found security from 



t> . /that peril.fBut when Saul saw that David had escaped 



land he had not caught him, he sent him on frequent 



J forays among heathen people in the hope that he would 



) be slain in warfare. But the more frequently David 



/ went out into battle, the more frequent victories and 



y the greater honors did he win;jand God magnified him 



before the eyes of all the people. And the more Saul saw 



him prosper, the more he envied him.* 



Now you can imagine the state of King Saul's mind: 

 he could say nothing against David, only what was 

 good. But since he perceived that God loved David 

 much because of his humility and loyalty, he envied 

 him as Cain envied his brother Abel because God loved 

 him. Indeed, Saul's enmity toward David became so 

 evident that he could not conceal his intentions to kill 

 him. Then Jonathan, Saul's son, reminded the king 

 that it would be a sin to slay an innocent man, speaking 

 in this wise: " My lord, why are you angry with your 

 servant David ? If there is any guilt on his part that 

 may be injurious to your kingdom or dignity, every 

 man who is with you here will seek his life; and we can 

 seize him whenever we like, for he is not on his guard 

 against us, knowing himself to be guiltless. He has 

 served you long and has been faithful in all things; he 

 fought against great odds when he slew Goliath, and 



* Cf. / Samuel, xix, 8-11. 



