OF THE STATE OF THE WORLD.
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son he had given him, firmly resolved to amend his life. All who were present commended the ingenuity of the royal reproof. (41)
TALE LXIV.
OF THE ACTUAL STATE OF THE WORLD.
In the reign of a certain king there happened a sudden and remarkable change; as, from good to evil; from truth to falsehood; from strength to weakness; from justice to injustice. This mutableness excited the king's wonder, and enquiring the cause of four of the wisest philosophers, they went, after much deliberation, to the four gates of the city, and severally inscribed thereon three causes. The first wrote—"Power is justice; therefore the land is without law. Day is night; therefore, there is no pathway through the land. The
