The King-Hermit

They told me that in a forest among the mountains lives a young man in

solitude who once was a king of a vast country beyond the Two Rivers.

And they also said that he, of his own will, had left his throne and the

land of his glory and come to dwell in the wilderness.

And I said, “I would seek that man, and learn the secret of his heart;

for he who renounces a kingdom must needs be greater than a kingdom.”

On that very day I went to the forest where he dwells. And I found him

sitting under a white cypress, and in his hand a reed as if it were a

sceptre. And I greeted him even as I would greet a king.

And he turned to me and said gently, “What would you in this forest of

serenity? Seek you a lost self in the green shadows, or is it a

home-coming in your twilight?”

And I answered, “I sought but you--for I fain would know that which made

you leave a kingdom for a forest.”

And he said, “Brief is my story, for sudden was the bursting of the

bubble. It happened thus: One day as I sat at a window in my palace, my

chamberlain and an envoy from a foreign land were walking in my garden.

And as they approached my window, the lord chamberlain was speaking of

himself and saying, ‘I am like the king; I have a thirst for strong wine

and a hunger for all games of chance. And like my lord the king I have

storms of temper.’ And the lord chamberlain and the envoy disappeared

among the trees. But in a few minutes they returned, and this time the

lord chamberlain was speaking of me, and he was saying, ‘My lord the

king is like myself--a good marksman; and like me he loves music and

bathes thrice a day.’”

After a moment he added, “On the eve of that day I left my palace with

but my garment, for I would no longer be ruler over those who assume my

vices and attribute to me their virtues.”

And I said, “This is indeed a wonder, and passing strange.”

And he said, “Nay, my friend, you knocked at the gate of my silences and

received but a trifle. For who would not leave a kingdom for a forest

where the seasons sing and dance ceaselessly? Many are those who have

given their kingdom for less than solitude and the sweet fellowship of

aloneness. Countless are the eagles who descend from the upper air to

live with moles that they may know the secrets of the earth. There are

those who renounce the kingdom of dreams that they may not seem distant

from the dreamless. And those who renounce the kingdom of nakedness and

cover their souls that others may not be ashamed in beholding truth

uncovered and beauty unveiled. And greater yet than all of these is he

who renounces the kingdom of sorrow that he may not seem proud and

vainglorious.”

Then rising he leaned upon his reed and said, “Go now to the great city

and sit at its gate and watch all those who enter into it and those who

go out. And see that you find him who, though born a king, is without

kingdom; and him who though ruled in flesh rules in spirit--though

neither he nor his subjects know this; and him also who but seems to

rule yet is in truth slave of his own slaves.”

After he had said these things he smiled on me, and there were a

thousand dawns upon his lips. Then he turned and walked away into the

heart of the forest.

And I returned to the city, and I sat at its gate to watch the passersby

even as he had told me. And from that day to this numberless are the

kings whose shadows have passed over me and few are the subjects over

whom my shadow has passed.