some of his subjects disobeyed him, so he turned on that king and killed him, or deposed him altogether, saying, “I did this only out of reverence for his dignity, lest some of his subjects disobey him.”

It is related that a certain fool saw a fly land on his master’s face, so he took a shoe and struck his master’s face with it to drive the fly away.

They are also like someone who inherited property from his father, some of which was wrongfully seized. A judge or witness sought to [ward off] harm from that heir and spare him the injury caused by the seizure, so he established that the heir was not the deceased’s son and was entitled to none of the inheritance. He said, “By this means, he could no longer be a victim of wrongful seizure, and the injury it caused him was eliminated.”

Or like a man who owned extensive property—houses, gardens, and other holdings—with substantial benefits and numerous rights, some of which others had wrongfully seized, causing him distress. A group of judges, witnesses, and assistants set out to relieve him of this distress, so they endeavoured to take all that property away from him, stripping him of its ownership and possession without bringing him any benefit whatsoever. They said, “As long as this property belongs to him, this small portion will inevitably be taken from him, causing him distress.”