Ninth Tale Of a Wise Man and a Simpleton #3
Once the king was reviewing the revision lists and he came across two entries where the surnames Wiseman and Simpleton were registered.
The king was startled to see these names listed together and he wished to meet this twosome.
The king recognized that if he were to summon them so unexpectedly they might be frightened.
The one who was called Wiseman would not know 80 how to respond, and this Simpleton might go mad from fear.
So the king decided to dispatch a wise man to Wiseman and a simple man to Simpleton.
But where does one find a simple person in the royal capital, a place where all are thought to be wise?
Actually, the steward of the treasury is quite simple, for no one wishes to have a clever person in charge of the treasury.
If he were too clever, he could use his wits to abscond with the country’s fortune.
For that reason, the treasury’s steward was, indeed, quite a simpleton.
The king thus summoned a clever man and a simple man—the steward of the treasury—and dispatched them to Messrs Wiseman and Simpleton, with a letter in hand for each.
He also sent a letter to the provincial governor, whose subjects included the two.
The letter for the governor requested that he send his own correspondence in advance to Wiseman and Simpleton so that they would not be alarmed by the invitation.
The governor ought to inform them that the royal request was not obligatory and that the king was not issuing a decree that they had to come to him, but rather it was up to them whether they wished to, since the king desired to meet them.
The royal delegates, wise and simple, journeyed out.
They came to the provincial governor and delivered his letter.
The governor made enquiries about the pair, and he was informed that Wiseman was an extraordinarily clever person and rather prosperous, and that Simpleton was utterly simple, a man who maintained that he wore all sorts of garments although he only possessed one single pelt.
The governor considered this and decided it would be highly inappropriate for Simpleton to be 81 brought before the king wearing this shabby old pelt.
So he had clothing made for him that would be more appropriate and had those placed in the simple delegate’s carriage to be delivered.
He also sent along the missives the king had requested he write.
Then the royal delegates rode off. When they arrived, they delivered all the letters.
The clever delegate gave his to Wiseman and the simple one to Simpleton.
Upon receiving his letter, Simpleton called to the simple delegate who had brought it, and said, What could be in this letter, will you read it to me?
The delegate replied, I know by heart what the letter says: the king requests you come to him.
Simpleton shot back, No fooling?
That is the absolute truth, the delegate answered, no fooling.
Straightaway, Simpleton was filled with joy. He ran to his wife and said, My wife, the king has sent for me.
She replied, What on earth? Why has he sent for you?
He had no time to give an answer. He joyfully rushed right off and went and sat himself down in the carriage to travel with the royal delegate. There he saw the clothes that the governor had arranged, and he rejoiced even more that he had these clothes now and was very merry.
In the meantime, the king had learnt that the provincial governor was corrupt and he had him sacked.
He considered that it might be good to have someone more humble as governor, a simple person.
After all, a simple fellow would lead his land truthfully and honestly, since he would not be given to cunning or chicanery.
The king thus ordered that Mr Simpleton, whom 82 he had already sent for, be made governor.
He issued a decree to that effect, ordering that when Simpleton got to the provincial capital he should be halted at the city gates and intercepted as soon as he arrived.
Thereupon, he would be appointed to his position as governor.
And so it was. His arrival was awaited at the city gates and, as soon as he passed through them, he was intercepted and told that he was now the provincial governor.
No fooling? he asked.
They answered, Of course not! No fooling at all.
And so he became the governor with all might and majesty.
Now the stars began to align for him and, as our Sages have taught, the right alignment of the stars brings wisdom.
And with this change in his fortune, he gained some intelligence.
He did not make use of this new wisdom, but rather conducted himself with the same simpleness as before.
He ruled his province with simplicity and truth and honesty.
There was no falsity about him, and he caused no grief to anyone.
For one needs no great wit or intelligence to rule a land, only honesty and simplicity.
If two people brought an issue before him to settle, he would determine, You are blameless, or, You are culpable.
Thus he was always simple-hearted and honest, without falseness or deceit, and he ruled always with truth.
He was much loved throughout the province and had loyal councillors who truly loved him as well.
Out of fondness for him, one of these councillors gave him some advice, Surely you must appear before the king, as he has already summoned you, and, moreover, it is the custom of all governors to report before the king.
Now, even though you are so honest, and the king could 83 not find in you any semblance of wrongdoing in your rule of the province, it is nevertheless the custom of the king that when he discusses matters, his conversation may stray to topics of philosophy or philology.
So it would be well and courteous to reply to him in kind.
Therefore it would be fitting for me to teach you philosophy and philology.
This pleased Simpleton. He thought, What is the harm in my learning philosophy and philology?
So he began studying and became adept in these subjects.
At once he remembered what his friend Wiseman had said, how it was unquestionably impossible for him to reach his level of brilliance.
But here I am, he thought, attaining it after all.
Even though he acquired such wisdom, he never put it to use and continued ruling with his simplicity, just as before.
When he was summoned before the king, he was obligated to go and travel to him.
First the king discussed how he was running his province.
All this greatly pleased the king, for the king saw how he ruled with justice and truth and without any wrongdoing or deception.
After this, the king began to discuss philosophy and philology, to which Simpleton responded accordingly.
Now the king was even more pleased. The king said, I see that you are such a clever person and yet you rule with such simplicity.
The king was so very pleased with him that he made Simpleton a minister over all other ministers.
He then ordered that he be given his own estate to settle in and that it be cloistered by very fine walls, as was only fitting.
He also gave him a scroll naming him minister.
And so it was—the cloister was finely built with 84 very lovely walls in the place the king had ordered and there he ruled with might and majesty.
When the letter was delivered to Wiseman, he said to the wise man who had brought him the letter, Wait, spend the night here. We can talk things over and consider what to do.
That night he prepared a grand meal and, as they ate, Wiseman began to cogitate and contemplate in his wise and philosophical way.
Then he spoke up and said, How comes it that the king should send for a commoner like me?
Who am I that the king would summon me? What does it mean when he is such a mighty king, who possesses such a realm and such grandeur while I am so small in comparison?
How can one make sense of such a thing as his summons?
If I venture to say that it is on account of my wisdom, what does that amount to next to the king’s?
Does the king not have his own sages? And the king himself is certainly a great scholar, so why should he send for me?
This all bewildered Wiseman greatly, and in his bewilderment he turned to the wise man who had delivered the letter, You know what I say?
I am of the opinion that this indicates that there is really no king at all and that everyone is simply deluded into believing that there is one.
Come now, how do you understand it? How does it add up that everyone allows themselves to be under the authority of one man that he should be their king? There is certainly no king at all.
The wise messenger answered, But I have brought you a letter from the king!
Wiseman countered, Did you take the letter directly from his hand? 85
No, he replied. Another man gave me the letter from the king.
So there you have it! Wiseman exclaimed. Now you see yourself that I am right and that there is no king at all. Just tell me this: you are from the royal city and were raised there, so tell me then, have you ever seen the king?
No, he replied.
Wiseman exclaimed, Now you see that I am right and that there really is no king in the world after all! For you, too, have never even laid eyes on him.
The royal delegate enquired in turn, If that is the case, who is ruling our country?
This I can explain clearly since I am well versed in such matters. I was in Italy where the custom is that there is a council of seventy men, and each man takes his turn ruling the country for a time. Then authority over the land passes from one councillor to the next.