"Well," I began, regaining myself, my former indignation being exhausted
by the spirit of my opening comments, and my normal sober reasoning
returning, "I have been observing your society, which you suppose to be
enlightened, but I have seen some things, which, I am afraid, are
evidences of the opposite."
"Go on,"
"For one, your common folk engage in the most violent entertainment. I
saw a vicious game being played not far from here, in the plaza below.
There were two sides, and they rushed at each other in a rage and
clashed when they met until one side tackled the other. This went on for
some time, the evident point of the sport being to gain points by making
it so that one of the opposing players cannot get up at the end of a
round. It was so brutal that I was disgusted and could watch no more."
"Yes, I see what you mean," the King replied, "I myself would much
rather that such games would be forsaken, but the people really enjoy
it. I must remind you, as well, that your society had the same type of
thing, as did every other before it. It was football for you, gladiators
for the Romans, and so forth."
"But I thought that you had no traditions? That you were more
enlightened than those of the past? You can hardly excuse your
misconduct by reminding one of the misconduct of another, especially
when you claim to disclaim the errors of history, or at least, that
altered and redefined thing that you call history.
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