Once a certain king had an idea. If he always knew the right time to begin everything, if he knew
who were the right people to listen to and who to avoid the most important thing to do, he would
never fail in anything that he would undertake and above all, if he always knew what was the most
undertake. Since he was convinced that he was right in thinking this way, he had a proclamation made in
his kingdom. He would give a great reward to anyone who would teach him what the right time was for
every action, who the most necessary people were, and how he might know the most important thing to
do.
Many learned people came to the court but they all gave different answers. In reply to the first question,
some said that to know the right time for every action, one must draw up in advance a table of days,
months and years, and must live strictly according to it. Others declared that it was impossible to decide
beforehand the right time for every action; but that, not letting oneself be absorbed in idle pastimes,
one should always attend to all that was going on, and then do that was most essential. Yet others said
that it was impossible for one man to decide correctly the right time for every action and that the king
should, instead, have a council of wise people, who would help him to fix the proper time for everything.
Equally varied were the answers to the second question. Some said the people the king most needed
were his councillors; others the priests; others the doctors while some said the warriors were the most
necessary.
To the third question about what was the most important occupation, some replied that the most
important thing in the world was science. Others said it was skill in warfare; and others, again, that it
was religious worship. The king was convinced by none of these answers and gave the reward to none.
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