The Game of Chess

A King should be truthful in his words and in his
deeds, so that he hates lying at all times.
Thus says Lord Solomon: "Truth is considered by
my throat, and my lips reject
the unrighteous." original: "warhait betracht min kel vnd min leffzen verwerffent den vngerechten." This is a vernacular translation of Proverbs 8:7: "For my mouth shall speak truth; and wickedness is an abomination to my lips." And because the King
likens himself to God through his office original: "Ampt." In medieval political theory, the king was seen as God's representative on earth, and therefore his character was expected to reflect divine attributes.,
so should he be like Him in virtues, in deeds, and in
steadfast truth. Thus did Alexander Alexander the Great (356–323 BC).
as Valerius Valerius Maximus, a Roman historian whose works were popular in the Middle Ages as a source of moral examples. writes of him: that he once
had intended to destroy a city called
Lassacus. original: "Lassacus." This refers to the city of Lampsacus in Asia Minor. And when he arrived before the city
with a great army,
a great master named Anaximenes Anaximenes of Lampsacus, a historian and rhetorician who had been a tutor to Alexander. came out of the city;
he had previously been the King's teacher, and he
wished to plead for the city, so that Alexander
might forget his anger toward it. And before
he could make his plea, the King wished to forestall
the request, and he swore that whatever the
master was going to ask of him, he would
not grant it.
In response, the master then begged him
to break and destroy the city.
And because the King had now sworn
that he would grant him nothing The clever teacher used "reverse psychology." Since Alexander had sworn not to do whatever Anaximenes asked, by asking for the city's destruction, he forced Alexander to save it in order to keep his oath.,
he departed from the city at once and showed it mercy.