Chapter 12. Piety in the Highest Degree Is Useful and Fruitful for the King

¹ The true king, then, knowing that just as a house or a ship must have its lower parts most securely fixed, so too must a kingdom proceed on a secure footing, makes piety his foundation. He is so pious that he does not yield the first place even to the priests; and he does all things and says all things knowing that God oversees and hears all things. And being a lover of God, he is recognized as beloved of God; for the one who loves God will be loved by God in turn. And so God will be everything to him—Father and brother, fellow soldier and ally—granting him success in war and helping him raise his trophies, and in peace sharing his zeal for good order. Who, then, is more blessed than the one who has God as his friend? Who is more unconquerable in battle? Whose truce is more peaceful? For such a man alone is truly in a fair way to rule the entire world. For if the world belongs to God, and he has been acknowledged as God’s friend, and the possessions of friends are held in common, then that most God-beloved king will be master of the world.