Meantime the King mused much upon that Sarquiles had told him. One day Gandandel and Brocadan came before him and said, Sir, we are grieved to see how little you regard your own welfare; that, quoth Lisuarte, may well be, but why say you this?—Because these Knights who are your enemies are coming to your Court without any fear to defend these Damsels for whom you ought to have the land given up. If you will take our advice you ought to behead them before these champions arrive, and send to forbid the Knights to enter your kingdom; thus would you make them fear you, and Amadis would not venture to offer you any wrong, for if they do not forbear for fear, for nothing else will they; the sooner this is done the better will it be, and the more terror will it strike. The King then called to mind the words of Sarquiles, and saw how he had spoken truth. You tell me two things, he replied, against all reason: the one that without any form of judgment I should have these Damsels slain, what account could I give to the Lord whose minister I am if I should do this? He has appointed me here in his stead to administer right in his name, and if I did this wrong which you counsel to strike fear into others, it would fall upon my own head at last. Those Kings who follow their own will instead of what is reasonable rely on themselves and not on God, which is the worst error into which they can fall. Their best security is to chuse out good counsellors, and honest ones, and to remember that however evil actions appear at first, the just Judge directs, and the end thereof cannot be good. You tell me also to forbid these Knights from coming to my court; a dishonourable thing would it be to prevent any one from claiming justice before me, much more they being my enemies, for it is to my honour that I have the power and inclination to do what they request. I do not like your counsel! you have done ill to those who deserved no ill at your hands! I have sinned and I have my punishment; and if you have been false so I trust will you have yours at the end. And with that he went away and left them.