Vere. 10-12.-The tyrant-slave. Distance frequently gives us exaggerated notions of greatness, while closer intimacy would speedily dispel the illusion. To the best part of the known world the name of Ahasuerus was associated with unrestrained power, but. this passage reveals his real position. Extremes meet; an absolute tyrant may be at the same time an absolute slave. This was precisely the case with Ahasuerus. He was- I. AN ABSOLUTE TYRANT. He occupied a position of unlimited authority, and exercised his authority in an arbitrary manner. Note-1. That the possession of absolute power is in itself a great 'Ufl"ong. It is a violation of the inalienable rights of communities that any man through the mere accident of birth-or even through his own superior abilities-should become an irresponsible ruler over them ; and history shows that this violation has always been fraught with disastrous conse- quences. (1) It subordinates the common weal to individual interest. The well- being of society is possible only on the supposition that the good of the greatest number should be of the first importance, and that individuals should be willing to sacrifice everything if necessary for its attainment. Despots, however, proceed on the supposition that everything exists for their private benefit-extensive territories, the wealth of nations, and even the lives of their subjects. (2) It tends to make the ruler himself capricious. To expect a man to be moderate, reasonable, and just at all times in such a position is to make too great a demand on human nature ; the tempta- tions to which he is exposed are more than an ordinary mortal can withstand. (3) It tends to make the people servile and unprincipled. Where one will is supreme there is nothing certain: law, justice, rectitude become meaningless ; duty resolves itself into pleasing the potentate, who holds the power of life and death in his own hands. The natural outcome of this is the spread of meanness, duplicity, dishonesty among all classes, from the highest to the lowest. The apologists of despoti11m sometimes 28 THE BOOK OF ESTHER. [Ctt. I. 10--22,
refer to the position of a father in his family in justification of the institution. But B father is not absolute in the widest sense ; and even if he were, the danger insepar- able from the possession of so much power is neutralised by the love he bears for his own flesh and blood. 2. The •u.se made of absolute power in the case before m. This iA a most ignoble passage in t?e lif~ of a king of such high pretensions. (1) Be seemed to assume that no consideration was due to anybody but himself. The l!Ole purpose of the prolonged festivities was to gratify his own vanity. And when he thought that the presence of the queen would add to his own pleasure he never paused to consider whether it might not be painful to the queen herself. Selfishness makes men thoughtless, unjust, and cruel, even to those who have the strongest cl&ims upon their tenderness. (2) He commanded what was unlawful according to the accepted notions of the time. Eastern women led a secluded life, and were not permitted to expose their countenances to the gaze of strangers. Besides for a modest woman to display her charms in the presence of drunken revellers' was a Jegradation from which she must have recoiled with unutterable aversion. (3) He afterwards punished as disobedience what was really obedience to a higher law of duty. The queen was deposed 'Simply for daring to protect her honour. In this respect she takes her place among a noble band-the glorious army of martyrs, who, rather than violating their consciences at the bidding of bloodthirsty tyrants, sub- mitted to imprisonment, torture, and death. Wrong can never really flourish. It may appear prosperous to superficial observers, hut a deeper knowledge of the state of things must reveal the penalty which it entails. Thie king, amidst the dazzling splendours with which he surrounded himself, might have imposed upon his fellow- men, and made them gaze with longing eyes upon the elevated position which he occupied; but after all there are unmistakable indications here that the absolute tyrant was- II. AN ABSOLUTE SLAVE. We find that-1. He was a slave of hi,s appetite. "The king's heart was merry with wine; " he had taken more drink than was good for him, and was beginning to feel the effect.I< of it. A sorry spectacle I He who ought to have set a pattern of dignified demeanour to those beneath him, degrading himself below the level of the brute creation. Millions have done and are doing the same tiring. Alexander conquered the world, but a lawless appetite conquered Alexander. 2. He was a slave of hu passions. " The king was very wroth, and hie anger burned within him." Accustomed as he was to be implicitly obeyed, he could not. endure his will to be thwarted. The demon within him was roused, and he was no longer master of himself ; he must obey the promptings of unreasoning rage, however much be might regret it in calmer moments. Truly," he that is slow to anger is better than the mighty, e.nd he that ruleth hie spirit than he that taketh a. city." 3. He was a alave of hi.<; pride. He was induced to depose the queen because he imagined that his dignity had been compromised. No doubt he loved her, and it must have cost him a pang to be separated from her, but pride would not allow him to revoke his decree. Like King Herod, who preferred to behead John the Baptist rather than confess that he bad made a foolish oath. He may have called it courage to himself, but it was in reality the most contemptible cowardice.-R. Vers. 16----18.-Court influence. We may admit the general truth of a principle, and yet deny its application to a particular case. Doubtless wrong-doing on the pa.rt of the queen might have exerted an un~holesome infl1;1ence upon other wome:r;i, hut it by no means follows that her conduct m the present instance was open to this objection. On the contrary, might not her bravery in maintaining the honour of h~r sex in the face of so much danger strengthen the hands of others when placed m similar difficulties ? The subject suggested by this passage is the rup011,8il:nlity of preatnesa. Let us inquire- !. WHAT CONSTITUTES GBEATNESB. By greatness we mean; in a general way, the position of a. man who for certain well-defined reasons towers above the rest of hie fellow-men. Evidently, therefore, it may be of various types. 1. The greatness of positwn. Some are born heirs to titles and kingdoms. Distinction is thrust. upon them before their wishes are consulted. Their lives mingle with the web of history simply on account of their birth. 2. The greatness of wealth Thie duf.ers from the CH, I. 10-22.] THE BOOK OF ESTHER. 29